Idiots in Love
by Fish and Chipz
Summary: AU. Team 7 think Kakashi is lonely and will die alone in his apartment, so they try and find him the perfect suited woman for him in Konoha with hilarious results. Kakashix? Slight SasuSaku, NaruHina. Complete!
1. The Path where Everything starts

Hi ppl!

I've never done this kind of story before… Well, not Naruto based.

I just recently got into Naruto (sighs, first it was Yu Yu Hakusho, then Kingdom hearts… now this) – and my information about it is a little fuzzy about most characters, so I'm starting out small on this board so make check that some things might be rushed because I've had to squish things together, and since I've never really written a Naruto fic… please excuse me if I get any facts wrong. Heck, I've only looked up character information in Wikipedia and I've only read up to Volume 10 of the manga – I've not seen the anime yet.

This story is **AU**. It is about Team 7 and their growing consideration towards Kakashi's lateness. Until one day, he gives them a really unbelievable explanation as to why he was late for over an hour, Naruto decides that Kakashi might need a woman in his life to improve on his life… not to mention, any extra credit he might gain if he managed to get Kakashi paired up with a perfect girl. Therefore, Sakura, Naruto and even Sasuke go on a hunt to find a nominee they think might suit him…

This story consists of only four parts. It's Kakashi x ? With slight and unfortunately, very minor SasuSaku and NaruHina because I don't know their personalities very well (gomen….). Just be sure, that there will be hinted pairings of the above mentioned.

**PS** Watch out for OOC-ness (especially around Sasuke…), and I've also slapped in some OCs because unfortunately, I've not yet encountered Tsunade, or much of other female characters, although they will be mentioned in my fic. And also, watch out for some **randomness**.

_Short story_

**Idiots in Love**

_By Fish and Chips_

**Part 1**

**The Path where Everything Starts:**

**The Lamest and Worst Excuse in History Ever?**

**-**

**-**

The blonde haired boy, Uzumaki Naruto, groaned as he kicked some pebbles from his path as he walked down the road of Konoha Village, which was filled with shops, houses and

busy people bustling up and down the streets past him. Kakashi-sensei was out getting groceries today - so in the house, it was only him, and his team mates, Haruno Sakura and that moron Uchiha Sasuke who were left alone on a Saturday morning. He himself was only 12 years old, along with Sakura except from his rival, Sasuke, who was still 12, but definitely much more mature. Why was Naruto so glum today? He was used to be bubbly and popping down to his favourite ramen stand where Iruka-sensei would treat him to ramen - but today, it was totally different.

In the early morning, he had set up a 'diabolical' plan to embarrass Sasuke in front of everyone at the main corridor leading to everyone's rooms - this 'everyone' was just Sakura and him. Naruto had set up a trap rope, once that Sasuke-moron had stepped through it to go to the kitchen where it would be tied around, the door to the kitchen (which had been booby-trapped with a pail filled with freezing icy cold water balanced on top) would open, and the pail would drop, all over an unsuspecting Sasuke's head and chill him right to the bone! Naruto had clasped his hands together and smiled devilishly. However disaster struck as Naruto hid in the bushes to watch Sasuke's demise himself, as Sakura waddled out from her room tiredly, still half asleep. And Sakura, being known to have a H.U.G.E crush on Sasuke ("What's so charming about him?" - Naruto), opened the door before Naruto could stop her and the pail dropped. He hadn't accounted for this to happen, and didn't have a back up plan either... Oh boy, was the poor kid in for it now?

There was a loud splash and a scream. Sasuke sat up in his futon abruptly and looked at the doorway.

"Sakura?"

There was a slight silence. "NAAAAARRRRUUUUUTTTTOOOOOO!"

As Sakura strangled the wind out of him, Sasuke entered the kitchen, went to the water flask and poured a glass of water out. Before turning to leave, he said: "What are you two doing?"

Sakura immediately let go of a blue-faced Naruto. "Sasuke-kun! He – The – Water – It fell… on me…. Naruto…" She trailed off, and her face began to burn a fierce red.

Sasuke snorted. "Hmph, whatever." And he left.

Sakura was unusually quiet as the water leaked over her cheeks. She looked as if she was crying…. Was she?

"Sakura…?" Naruto began, about to place a hand on her shoulder.

She ignored him, got up and dusted herself off, before running to the doorway. "I don't want to speak to you again, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Well, back to Naruto in the streets - people whispered as he passed by - sure, his face was beaten up and bloodied by a girl – he didn't mean to make her that mad. Not by any girl, but by the love of his life - he sighed. Why were girls so complicated? Why did they have to be so loud and – Naruto rubbed his cheek which has a large red print on it – Why do girls hit so hard? Especially Sakura? Naruto frowned as h thought about her – she's such a masculine girl, with rotten temper and abnormal strength hidden under a cute face and pink locks of hair. Naruto sighed deeply and shoved his hands into his pockets.

He was going to have some ramen with Iruka and enjoy it! Clenching his fists, he marched down, before passing an empty alleyway, where:

"Psst."

He walked past the opening of a dark alleyway - and he stopped. "Wha - ?"

"Over here, little boy."

Naruto gaped at the single green eye in the dark alleyway that stared at him; it was glimmering brightly from the sun. "Me?"

"Yes, you – the unusual-laddie-with-whiskers-on-his-face."

Naruto grimaced.

The voice belonged to a girl. She stepped out into the empty clearing, and Naruto seemed a bit relieved. She didn't look as scary as her voice sounded in the dark back there. "Who're you, lady?" He asked suspiciously.

"Ah, I am a travelling saleswoman, selling merchandise from village to village, might I interest you in some things though? You're a genin from this village, right?" The girl said to him, looking down at him from her shades.

Naruto blinked. She looked... different than other girls. She had no forehead protector – which meant she wasn't a ninja, had a black hat on over long blue hair and was wearing dark shades that covered her emerald eyes and she was wearing…. A long trench coat over her body – which seemed to be in the most unusual shape Naruto had ever seen. She was tall and looked a bit lanky. And what was with those sunglasses? Naruto eyed her curiously and cautiously.

"Well, yeah." He replied.

"Then you'll be interested in these." She unzipped her trench coat and pulled out the flaps – Naruto's eye twitched as he gaped at the inside of her jacket – lining it was thousands of pockets, with scrolls of all shapes and sizes. "How many times have you performed jutsus and got them all messed up, eh, laddie?"

Naruto stared at her awkwardly as she continued ranting.

"Well, now mistakes are rare when you purchase one of these – correction scrolls! They'll bound to monitor your movements, from head to toe, and if you don't understand how to perform a jutsus, use one of these! Each jutsu has their own unique scroll especially for that jutsu. Take it as a 'revision guide'. Eh, results may vary in how you use them."

"What?"

"Hmm, not interested in Jutsu help scrolls? Well…. How about these? The_ real_ scrolls of how to perform jutsus you've never learnt before?"

"Er… are you official?"

"Laddie, course I am. Now, are you gonna buy something or not?" The girl was waving some scrolls in front of his face. "I don't stay here for very long, I am an extremely busy girl and I don't have time to wait."

"Well… how much are they costing for one scroll?"

She gazed at them. "Since they're really, really, really, _rare_ jutsus….. I would say….. about eighty, for each scroll (for I do not know what value the yen in other currency, I'll just stick to numbers, heck, eighty does seem a lot)."

"What!" Naruto exclaimed. "That's – "

"Expensive, yeah I know too, kid. But in the grown up world, money is everything. And that's what I want and thrive for." She clasped her hands together greedily. "I'll give you a bargain, since you look too young to have a job."

Naruto looked down.

"Okay, okay kid. I like you – well, sorta. So I'll give you a little something completely free, as a 'freebie', but don't say it was from me, okay?"

Naruto nodded briefly. The girl protruded out a small scroll and handed it to him. "Just a little scroll, which teaches the jutsu art of - "

"Naruto!"

Upon hearing his name being called out, Naruto whipped around to see his silver-haired jounin carrying a bag of groceries, the other hand carrying the little orange book, named 'Icha Icha Paradise'. "Kakashi-sensei?" He turned back round, the girl was gone. "Eh? Where'd she go?"

"Yo!" The jounin appeared beside Naruto pleasantly.

"Kakashi-sensei…." Naruto said again, staring off at the tree in the corner, where a wisp of blue hair had just been seen.

"What're you looking at?"

"N-Nothing…" He turned round to his teacher and looked to the side.

"What's that you got?"

"Urh…. " Naruto hesitantly gave it to his sensei, who opened it up as he handed Naruto his grocery bag, the orange book now in his pocket.

Kakashi looked over the contents silently, before his eyebrow furrowed, no longer looking bored, much, and he slammed it shut. "Naruto… where'd you get this?"

"Uh…."

_Should I tell?_

Behind the tree, she was gesturing to Naruto - 'NO!' - madly with her arms waving around, but he had his back to her anyway, so he didn't see. She pushed up her sunglasses and clutched the tree bark. "I'm finished if he does. Trust me to sell something to him." She continued to watch.

"Naruto, answer me."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I promised not to tell…." He replied meekly.

"Who did you get this from?"

"Er…."

"If you don't tell me, I'll assume you've stolen it."

"No – I didn't… I got if off someone."

"Well, can you describe the person?"

"Uh…. She was a girl." Naruto replied.

Gee, that's helpful.

"Where'd she go?"

Naruto pointed to the tree. "There."

The girl tensed up when she saw the blonde boy pointing at her direction. "Way to go, blondie!" Now the silver-haired man was also staring at her direction with his single half lidded eye. She shivered and shrank back behind the trunk, as if it could provide her some protection. "He looks scary…. Time for my exit!"

She turned back to leave, and slammed into something on her right. "Ow!" The girl landed on her backside painfully, some of the scrolls fell down from her jacket pockets inside and littered the ground. Rapidly, she got up and began collecting them, but the silver-haired man grabbed her arm and lifted her up, the scrolls fell back to the floor again. She whimpered and tried to shake her thin arm out of his grasp.

"So, wanting to leave and make a clean getaway, did you?" He said, flipping out his orange book. .

The girl gawked at the jounin in front of her, a drop of sweat trickling over her temple as her mouth opened and closed like a fish. "But you were – I could've sworn - !" He smiled under the mask (or so she thought) at her sudden reaction, and she glared at him from under the sunglasses. "Hey, hey! Let me go, I'm just doing my job as a travelling saleswoman!" She unzipped her jacket and lifted out the inside of her jacket, pointing to each of the scrolls furiously.

"Hmph, you may fool Naruto, but you can't fool me. These are all _fake_." He took a scroll out and whipped it open, and then he turned it over to give her a look at the inadequately written words in black ink. "You've done a poor job getting these copied from the real thing."

She froze and felt her blood turn cold. _I'm…. dead…. _"N-No, no, they're not fake!" Then she took several steps away from him, hand fumbling clumsily in her pockets; and she took out some black marble shaped orbs that were quite small. "Hah! You'll never catch me! Not when I have these - !" She hissed at him, holding them up threateningly. " - Smoke pellets to help get a clean getaway - hiyyyaaa!"

She threw them on the ground and they exploded, a large ink cloud gathering, Kakashi frowned slightly; he could breathe easily through the mask, but the girl was stuck in a coughing fit. Darn, what had she thrown? It smelt awful and her eyes were watering. The dust cleared, and Kakashi easily caught her – all he did as shoot an arm out and grab a tight hold on her. He stared boredly at her, she didn't seem to realise that her face was all black from the smoke, and the sunglasses made her blend in even more.

"Nani? What are these - ?" She cracked one bloodshot eye open and stared at the leftover pellet in her palm, squinting at the tiny writing on the bottom. "Eee? Stinkbombs? Gaaah! Curse you!" She screamed in agony. "Well, this sucks - Big time."

"You're coming with me to see the Hokage."

"What - ? No, please! NOOOOO!" She wailed. "I know, how about I give you something for free- or I'll give you a discount? Please, let me go, I'm not a fake! I didn't even know they were fake!" Somehow, he didn't believe her at all and he rolled his eye. She continued. "Come on, you must be quite the looker, eh, under that mask, must be wearing it to give women the jibes, right? Then how about – "

"Give it a rest, I'm not interested."

She slumped in his grip and he pulled her out from under the tree. Naruto looked at the girl and his jaw dropped as she shot him a death glare from under the sunglasses. He pretended not to look.

"Naruto, take those back home, will you?" Kakashi instructed as he kept his deathly grip on her arm. "I have some business to take care of."

He nodded briefly, before running off.

They arrived at the Hokage's temple – as they passed the street, the girl still in his grasp. She was embarrassed like mad – he had that book out – and she could see from the title. _Icha Icha Paradise_, that it was some kind of adult book written by Jiraiya (sp?)– to make matters worse, he was reading it right out in the open, people were staring at them as they passed, and he even 'giggled' to himself sometimes upon reading some kind of humorous part in the book, his face going a bit pink to match. She fumed. The girl tried to look over his shoulder but he always kept her in front of him.

_Has he no shame? Reading that kind of book out in public!_

She didn't like this at all. The guards allowed them to pass, because this silver-haired man, apparently was in some kind of high rank. She was gestured inside, it was quiet – she gulped and began sweating. The jounin joined her side. Her legs were quaking against each other and she was sweating under her hat copiously. She was a nervous wreck. Kakashi gave her a flannel.

"Eh?"

"Wipe your face."

"What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine."

He used a finger to smudge her cheek, and then showed her it. She gaped at the black soot on his finger, before snatching the flannel off him, before scrubbing at her face. She almost fainted when she saw how black it was when she finished. _And to think, I was walking around town with him looking like that…_

Eventually, the Hokage entered the room. He eyed her up and down in his seat. "Fukushima Oyoshi?"

The girl looked up. "Hai…?" She squeaked.

"What are your intentions here?" The old man was gazing into his crystal ball, before looking back at her.

She hesitated slightly. "I'm uh… a travelling saleswoman. I sell things."

"I do believe the scrolls you possess are – "

She swallowed hard. "Either stolen or copied…." She replied glumly.

Kakashi glanced at her. Suddenly the stubborn girl he had met earlier had worn down to a quiet little pipsqueak.

"Then you understand about copyrighted material. You must hand them back to where they rightfully belong, in the Ninja Academy."

"Some of them I bought, really!" She piped up. "I want a ransom!"

The Hokage raised an eyebrow.

She unzipped her jacket, letting the fake ones fall down, and she took out four scrolls in front of her. "These are ones I got for a high price. Each scroll…. I am charging a thousand, each – just to be fair."

"Very well," The Hokage said. "Kakashi?"

He looked up. "Yes?"

"You heard the girl."

"Uh….." His eye bulged. "What? I'm paying?"

The girl grinned at him evilly.

Kakashi muttered crossly under his breath, protruding out his wallet, he stuffed the rightful amount of money into her hand; in exchange the four scrolls were dumped carelessly into his arms. She was too busy counting the money, her grin spreading even wider.

"Wow…" She mumbled. "All these money…." _All made in one day!_

_That money was supposed to be used for the next Icha Icha book… _Kakashi thought.

She was staring at her money hungrily. She hadn't made such a profit in like… ever! She quickly hid the cash into her clothes, at the chest, and she turned back round, Kakashi was eyeing her unenthusiastically. She cleared her throat at him angrily. He turned away. "Can I go now?" She asked, once Kakashi had looked back to the front.

"No," The Hokage said.

She blinked behind her sunglasses as the Hokage continued.

"Fukushima Oyoshi, you have committed a high offence. You have been charged guilty of theft, illegal possession and plagiarism of copyright material."

Her jaw dropped. "Wha-Wha-WHAT!" Her face was burning red fiercely.

"Because you have no qualification of being a ninja, identification or record in this village, we cannot banish you nor can we carry out any execution, I hereby sentence you to sixty three hours of Community Service."

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" She shrieked uncontrollably. "I'm just a person who gambles! NOOOOOO!"

"Kakashi-san, please escort Fukushima-san outside to the Community centre."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." He turned to the girl. "Come on, Fukushima-san."

"Don't you dare say my name like that, you – you – Oyaji!" She screamed (That's a term meaning 'old man' by the way).

A vein popped in Kakashi's head and he yanked her back outside, she was kicking and yelling her head off. "What is your problem!"

"My problem! In case you didn't hear, _oyaji_," She spat at him. "I've just been charged to do Community Service for sixty three hours! And I didn't do anything wrong, _oyaji_!"

"My name is _Hatake Kakashi_, call me _Hatake-san_. Show some respect to _Jounins_, Fukushima-san." He let go of her and she wrenched her hand from his grasp, cradling it to herself. Her lip was trembling as she eyed him warily; he had taken out that stupid book again and was reading it.

She closed her eyes and said in a stubborn manner - "Pffft! I don't care who _you_ are! My name is Oyoshi – I dislike it when people call me Fukushima-san. I prefer to be called _Oyo-chan_."

"Well, _Oyo-san_. I will show you your temporary residence." He pulled her back out towards the entrance gates, the guard behind them back at the door was wondering: "What is up with these people?"

"Stop calling me, 'oyaji'."

"Well you sure suit it; you look old, with white hair and stuff, _oyaji_!" She still pressed onto that word. Kakashi tightened his grip on her and she squealed. "You even _sound_ old, or maybe it's because of that mask you wear – why do you even wear a mask anyway? Have you got such old skin that you're all dehydrated and wrinkly like a dried up prune inside, _oyaji_?"

She immediately shut up when he gave her the most dangerous and lethal death glare ever from the corner of his eye, and then - "Don't. Call. Me. Oyaji."

He _lunged_ at her.

She screamed and crouched down immediately with her hands over her head. She embraced herself for the worst – who knew what this insane, old pervert was going to do to her?(! ) Immediately, she began to memorise her will and began praying to god. Nothing came. She opened her eye, then the other, and looked up. "Huh?"

There was a low chuckle. "Oyo-san, you didn't think I'd really hurt you, did you?" Kakashi offered her a hand.

She slapped it away and got up herself as Kakashi continued reading his book. "No, I thought you were going to _murder_ me." Then she sniffled as she looks down at the ground quietly.

Kakashi looked away from his book. "Oyo-san?"

She dropped back down on the floor and began to cry, clutching her knees to her chest, howling like a five year old who had tripped up and scraped her knee on the path.

"Oyo-san?" He said timidly. Was she crying? He couldn't see – because her eyes were covered behind thick shades.

"Leave me… -hic-…. alone!" She wailed, suffering from non-stopping hiccupping and dribbling.

There was a slight silence. Yep, she was crying. The stream of water spilling down from under the shades and down her cheeks told him so. Kakashi particularly disliked it when girls cried in front of him.

"Hatake Kakashi!" An angry voice was heard behind them. Kakashi turned round slightly to see his 'eternal rival' – Maitou Gai. He was another jounin, with thick eyebrows and a mushroom-like haircut – and he also had his own team

"Gai?" Kakashi muttered unfocusedly. Honestly, somehow, Kakashi thought that Gai had him on a tracking device.

This 'Gai' guy stopped in front of Oyo - who was bawling her eyes out, he ignored Kakashi and knelt down in front of her. "Ah, my lovely lady, I'm so sorry I hadn't come sooner to protect you from him (he glared at Kakashi), my eternal rival, Hatake-san. What, may I ask, has he done to offend such a beautiful girl like you?" Gai even flashed her the trademark gleaming smile of his, showing his pearly whites and holding a thumbs up when she looked at him strangely.

She wiped her eyes. "Oh my…." Oyo-san was muttering.

Kakashi noticed her reaction. _What's wrong with her now…?_

She gawked at his eyebrows. She stared at his clothes – this time Gai wasn't wearing his jounin uniform but a Hawaiian print t-shirt for a special occasion. "Those… Those bushman eyebrows….Those tacky clothes – And that blinding smile – **Holy cow!** You're – "

Gai and Kakashi blinked.

"You're - " She began again, this time, only quieter.

They leaned in to hear what she was going to say.

"You're – "

_Yes?_

"You're HAWT!"

The background cracked behind Gai and Kakashi. "Nani?" They both said with a slight sweatdrop – well, Kakashi had one, Gai felt as if he was in heaven.

Oyo-san was grinning like a fool as she wiped her tears. "You're funny! I'm just joking by the way (Kakashi sweat dropped)! It's nothing, really. I just thought Hatake-san was going to molest and kill me – " She pointed to Kakashi who didn't seem to be really interested.

Gai frowned. "Wait till I tell the Hokage about this, Hatake-san! I'll finally unravel how much of a pervert you really are – how you were planning to assault this beautiful lady – "

"There's no need." Kakashi said sleepily. "I already took her to see the Hokage. I'm taking her away."

"Where to…?"

"The Council prison."

The background behind Gai cracked once more. "N-N-Nani!"

"She is to go to the Council Prison to serve her sentence." Kakashi replied, he picked Oyo up, who seemed to have stopped blubbering.

"Is this true?" Gai asked Oyo. She nodded glumly in response at him, scratching her head thoughtfully.

_I need to think of an escape plan. But how can I? This Gai man looks a bit weird, but he is still a jounin. Oyaji here with the mask is too strong for me. But maybe I can distract him then make a run for it? Nah, I saw him do that last time, his speed is incredible. I suck and I know it. Bah! Hmm, those books – Oyaji must be a big hentai. Maybe I can seduce him and - yuck, that's just sick. I can't even imagine myself doing that. God, this is lame! _

Kakashi realised that Oyo seemed to have zoned out, and so had Gai. There was a long silence.

_Damnit._ Gai thought. _Kakashi's already caught a criminal in the village and yet I haven't. Now the score is 52-51! But this girl – she looks too young to be a criminal. Maybe Kakashi paid her to commit some crime and then he'll catch her and he'll get all the credit and – _Gai stopped. Nah, that was too un-like Kakashi.

"Come on, Oyo-san." Kakashi gathered her up once she snapped back to reality and she dusted herself off. "You mustn't bother Gai-kun, he's a very busy man." His closed eye was curled up, indicating that he was smiling under his mask.

Gai glared slightly. Although he knew he was probably over reacting, he didn't like the way how Kakashi had his firm, dirty paws over Oyo's shoulder. "Matte – " Gai started. Although this girl was a supposed to be a 'criminal' he didn't believe it. "What's your name anyway?"

"Fukushima Oyoshi." The girl told him proudly, pointing to herself. Kakashi had already walked away.

"Oyo-chan - " Kakashi began, looking over his shoulder. "The prison isn't going to wait for you, you know."

"Hai, Hatake-san." She measly followed him from behind. Oyo blinked. Since when did she call him _Hatake-san_? And when did he call her Oyo-_chan_?

"Hey, Hatake-san, don't forget that today is the Happy Hour at the bar!" Gai called out. "I can challenge you to a sake drinking contest – be there, or be square!"

"Hai, hai." Kakashi muttered, still engrossed with the book.

Oyo watched Kakashi walk further, before turning to Gai. "Well, ja-ne, oyaji."

Gai looked up. Oh, she was addressing to him. And once more, the next background behind Gai crumbled. "O-O-Oyaji!"

**Later….**

After turning an extremely reluctant Oyo-san into the prison guards, who locked her up in a room on the ground floor, Kakashi left the jail. He remembered that he was supposed to be going back to the Hokage to get his team another mission. He sighed and checked the time – it was actually pretty late. He decided to leave he mission for tomorrow. And – oh yeah, today was Happy Hour. Basically, that was when all the Jounins went to the local bar and took a break – which occurred almost every evening – and Kakashi mostly came home in a drunken state afterwards – ne, it was common.

"Yo!" He called cheerfully to the trio who were waiting for him by the park.

"You're late!" Naruto exclaimed. "L.A.T.E!"

"Yes, Naruto, I can spell correctly. Gomen, just ran into a spot of trouble there – there was a -"

"Sensei, what happened to that lady from before?" Naruto interrupted.

"Ah, yes, it turned out she was on the black market. That's another lesson for the three of you. Never buy anything off strangers." Kakashi replied. "And she's ended up in Prison."

Naruto shut up.

"Sakura-chan? Daijoubou desu ka?" Kakashi asked, noticing that Sakura seemed to be extra quiet.

"Nothing," She replied, looking away from Sasuke in the corner, who seemed to be enticed at looking at the floor.

"Can we get on with the mission already?" Sasuke asked impatiently as he got off the bench.

"Sure." He took out the card. "Today, we're going to the market."

**And meanwhile…**

Ugh…. 63 hours of Community Service? Oyoshi sighed as she checked the clock on the wall. She had only done five to six hours so far in the first day. She sighed again – she bored out of her mind – the cell she was put in was some kind of cold, iron walled box room, the door opposite her had this shutter for the eyes of a guard to peep in, and occasionally, an ANBU guard would come up and check up on her, or give her food from the shutter at the foot of the door. The barred window was the only source of light. Her bed was crammy and rock hard – she looked under the extra thick layer of straw and realised that it was a rock – the straw didn't do a good job in trying to make it comfortable. She had a rock pillow to match and thin covers. It was cold in the cell and the small candle at the corner didn't help warm up the room either. She was lucky she had this room to herself.

This first of Community service included for Oyoshi to pick up litter in the streets along with other inmates for the first three hours - oh, you have no idea how filthy Konoha streets really are - then she had to chop up wood, it wasn't exactly hard labour, but it was something she hadn't done before, so it wasn't surprising that Oyoshi had blistered hands – she had to get them bandaged up – wood chopping had been postponed to another day and Oyoshi was the first to go back into her cell to retire.

The shutters opened, and an ANBU guard looked in, the animal mask freaked her out – with the two dot eyes staring back at her. Oyoshi hid under her covers. "Lights out in ten minutes."

Then she the shutters slammed shut.

Was it that late already?

There really wasn't any difference – because Oyoshi always wore sunglasses, she hadn't noticed how dark it really was. She peeped back up from under he covers a few moments later. Lights were out. The moonlight was now flowing through the barred window. Oyoshi got out from her bed and the sneakily, she fumbled to under her tufts of straw on the bed and pulled out…

A pick axe.

_Perfect….._

Then, she took out a scroll from under the rock pillow and unravelled it; there was a poorly drawn diagram with a stick figure wearing shades, carrying an axe. Then an arrow going to outside this weird hut picture, into a drawing of a field and the sun, labelled '_freedom_'.

And in words as a heading, it said: '_My Plan: I Dig Out_'

**6 hours later….**

Heaving, she dragged the pick axe from her side and up over her head, before bringing it slamming down on the mud in front of her. She wasn't very tired – yet. That long time sitting on the rock bed back in the cell had helped her regain the energy she needed to dig out. The dirt crumbled a little in front of her but there was still a lot more to go. Oyoshi was hungry and her breathing was beginning to get laboured.

She didn't know how long she had been digging, but it had been for a long, long time so she thought, still no sign of freedom. This was such a drag, she had run out of water from her canteen, and if she continued, oxygen would probably be scarce. She held the lamp up – still loads of dirt to go, she was starting to get afraid. What if she couldn't get out and died down here alone - Cold, tired and hungry? Shaking that thought from her head, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and tilted up her sunglasses.

"That's it. I'm going to dig up from here. I don't care if I've even dug out from the prison yard; I just want to see some fresh air."

**2 hours later….**

Eee? What was this? Not only had Oyoshi been digging up for ages, but instead of digging up flowers and roots, she came across some boarded and hard…. Using the pickaxe, she brought it slamming vertically, and smashed the boards.

**CRASH!**

Debris and dust flew over her. She coughed, and poked her head up in the hole, making sure she didn't get any splinters. Apparently, she had dug her way into someone's home – it was dark, she removed her sunglasses, yup, it was naturally dark in the house. She crawled out from the hole and breathed in fresh air in bliss.

"Freedom -!" She gasped, exhausted, she lay in a heap as she moved away from the hole, the pickaxe still inside the tunnel – the lamp had gone out. There was no more oxygen in the tunnel.

She heard a slight groan in the doorway, and immediately, Oyoshi scrabbled up and hid behind some kind of cupboard. She peeked out, the front door had opened, and someone was lumbering in – a guy, Oyoshi thought, had stumbled inside and landed on the floor. The hall light flicked on, and Oyoshi could hear a hubbub of slurred voices, some people were laughing and joking.

"Kakashi! You shouldn't bother yourself and wake up tomorrow!" Then the door slammed shut, the light switched off.

Oyoshi thought. Kakashi? Why was that name so familiar? She paled – of course; it's the name of the oyaji who had turned her in! She groaned – and somehow she had ended up digging into his home too. Talk about coincidental. Grumbling, she attempted to jump back into her tunnel and dig further so she'll end up outside, but she heard a loud crash in the hall.

Kakashi had knocked over a vase and was lying face down in water, flowers strewn over his body. Oyoshi tried not to snicker, but she did.

"Hunh… who's there?" Kakashi gathered himself at the corridor, still slouched down, rubbing his aching head.

Oyoshi shut up. "Uh… no-one."

D'oh! She slapped herself mentally. Why'd she say that?

There was a long term of silence. Oyoshi crawled out from the living room, and made her way to the corridor, where the front door was – and also where Kakashi was. "Uh… are you okay?"

He groaned and blearily cracked one eye at her (and the only one uncovered by his mask). It was too dark; Kakashi could only make the silhouette of a figure kneeling in front of him.

He was too drunk and delirious to return to reality for the moment.

"How'd you get in…?"

"Er… front door?" The girl said.

Kakashi nodded, then flopped back, trying to get to sleep.

"Are you going to sleep here? It's too cold – and look at the state of you." She said, not too politely either, but Kakashi heard her.

"Unhhn……" God, his head was killing him! Next time… he would remember not to drink too much with Gai….. He felt himself being lifted up, and into someone's lap. He could smell something weird… it smelt like damp earth… and something else…

"Ugh, gawd you smell awful." The girl said flatly. "And you're pretty warm, too." She was slapping him on the cheek. "Hey, wake up!" He lifted an arm up not too gently to get himself into a more comfortable position, in progress; he slapped something off the girl. It clattered onto the floor. "Hey! Those were expensive!"

Kakashi was now gazing fuzzily at the image in front of him. He could only make out eerily green eyes. A demon…? "Who're...Who're you?" He slurred.

"Ugh…. Ne….. I'm uh…. A…. a…. an unknown stranger."

Wow.

_Great_ cover up, eh? (PS, note the sarcasm)

"You want some water?" She asked him. _Strange. He's completely lost his sense of reality._

"Nah…"

"You're boiling up. I think you have the fever."

He grumbled at her, and she left his side – this meant his head hit the ground, not too gently either, as she pushed him off her lap. She remembered the flannel he had given to her earlier.

_Well, I can return it to him now._

She had run towards the bathroom, taps were heard being opened, and gushing water was now heard. Now, Kakashi had more of a headache than being drunk. The footsteps were coming back again, and his head was lifted up. The forehead protector was ripped off from his head and then –

"Don't – " He stopped her in the nick of time before she could take off his mask.

"Who cares anyway? And look at how dark it is, idiot. Besides, who'd wanna see your face anyway?" Then he heard her mutter to herself. "You're probably butt ugly anyway."

He was too dizzy and feeling far too nauseous to retort back. This girl… sure was _pleasant_. He allowed her to pull down the mask, then – "Close your eyes." She warned.

"They're already closed."

"Okay."

**SLAP!**

Something cold dropped onto his face and he jerked. The girl had slapped a cold, wet flannel over his face. "Are you sure this is right?" He mumbled from under. He felt really, really cold.

"No, but it worked for me last time."

From time to time, this medic girl would take the flannel off his face, re-wet it in extremely cold water and smack it over his face again. By that time, Kakashi had gotten used to it. She hadn't dried it properly of excess water, so the water would trickle down his neck and over his hair, seeping into his ears and everything. Kakashi felt really uncomfortable. He couldn't think properly. He felt really awful – weak and sleepy.

He slowly began to nod off….

**SMACK!**

"Nani…!" He jerked again.

"Shut up! Don't you fall asleep on me! You smell terrible, I'll be carrying this stench for days, where's your bedroom? This sure is a messy house…"

He gestured to the second door on the right, just opposite them. She began to drag him across the corridor from under the armpits, taking off his shoes and socks, then she kicked open the door – the cloth still stuck over his face, she entered the bedroom. There was a bed there with unmade futon, and she, literally, threw him onto the bed, heck, she didn't care if this was his bedroom, all she cared was that there was a bed in it.

"Well, that's that. You seem to be cooling down now. Don't go heavy drinking again, or there would be no unknown stranger to tuck you into bed. You'll really wear yourself out and die alone in the streets." She was ranting on.

"How nice…." He mumbled. "Matte ah….. Where are… you… going?"

She shrugged and replied, "Freedom?" Then she wandered back to the doorway, and snorted as she looked back at him.

Kakashi just delved into the covers, covering his bottom half of his face.

"He must be really, really, really ugly. I hope God has mercy and help him."

Then she left.

**Morning…**

Naruto tapped his foot impatiently. "He's two hours late! Extra late!" Man! Does Kakashi-sensei need to get a life or what? He understood that Kakashi was a very strong man and all, but boy, did he have some issues he had to sit down and work out sometime. Kakashi really needs a woman in his life – and that book he reads doesn't help him either.

"Naruto, shut up!" Sakura moaned at him. "You've said for about twenty times the whole week. Why can't you be more like Sasuke-kun and wait, like me as well? You sound as if you're going to explode. Get used to it now!" Meanwhile, Inner Sakura was thinking: "If Kakashi-sensei doesn't come, I'm going to explode! I can't wait any longer!"

He frowned. "Ne, Sakura-chan, don't you think Kaka-sensei needs some love in his life?"

Sakura stopped, and blinked. "Eh?" Then she straightened. "I don't think Kakashi-sensei has time for love. Besides, he's adored by almost every woman in this village." And Inner Sakura: "Yet, with Kakashi's hentai nature, he scares them more than attracting them."

"Sasuke, you've been quiet for the whole time, what do you think?" Naruto said with a wolfish grin at Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't look at him closed his eyes and continued…. Thinking of something.

Inner Sakura: "Wai! Sasuke-kun is so cool, the way he just ignored Naruto like that – sighs…."

Naruto's thoughts: "Bah, I've seen cows eating grass in fields looking cooler than him."

He threw his arms over his head and closed his eyes. "But don't you guys think that if we hooked him up with a woman, he'd repay us ever so kindly by giving us extra credit and better missions? Maybe he'll become extra early and teach us cooler stuff."

Sakura blinked at him and cocked her head to the side. _Is he an idiot? I really don't think Kakashi-sensei would do that…_

_**How to Make a Girl Smile:** ___

_Tell her she is beautiful, not hot, fine or sexy. ___

_Hold her hand at any moment even if its just for a second. ___

_Kiss her on the forehead. ___

_Leave her voice messages for her to wake up to. ___

_Always tell her you love her at all times. ___

_When she is upset hold her tight and tell her how much she means to you. ___

_Recognise the small things, they usually mean the most. ___

_Call her sweetie, not baby. ___

_Sing to her no matter how horrible your voice is. ___

_Kiss her in the rain. ___

_If you're in love with her... Tell her…._

Sheesh, since when did _Icha Icha Paradise_ talk about these stuff? Kakashi shut his book and looked up at his students, one particular student was seemingly angry. "Gomen."

"You're late again, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto was tapping his foot impatiently. He really was frustrated, and he wasn't learning anything. They hadn't done anything action packed for A-G-E-S! Naruto was really bored. Their previous mission was just going food-hunting for this elderly couple who couldn't move off their backsides.

"Ah…" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "You see, I was out drinking again last night, and then as I blindly returned home, an _unknown stranger _helped me and tucked me into bed. I woke up to see that I was already late – but in my living room, there was a large hole in it, so I had to call the repair man to fix my floorboards which took a very long time."

The trio stared at him.

"What, you don't believe me?"

**Flashback**

_Kakashi woke up with a start._

_Huh?_

_What?_

_Who?_

_Pakkun was tugging and biting at the end of his covers. "Hey, Kakashi-san. It's about time you woke up."_

_Kakashi groaned and pulled the covers over him, a wet flannel falling off and landing on Pakkun's head. His head hurt badly. "What a dream."_

"_Urgh, get this foul-smelling cloth off my head." Pakkun groaned as a familiar looking wet cloth was lying on top of his head, over the forehead protector. _

_Kakashi blinked, and glanced down at the dog, before lifting it up with his two fingers. It was caked with a bit of dirt, and black marks. Why'd it look so oddly familiar? He got up from his bed, and left the bedroom. "Pakkun?" He called as he entered the living room. "Did you see anyone come in last night while I was away?"_

"_No, I just arrived here a few minutes ago, why do you ask?"_

_Kakashi was occupied in looking down the new hole on his living room floor. "I think we had a guest yesterday night…" _

**End of Flashback, now back to the present…. **

"You think a giant mole broke into your house?" Naruto said, frowning.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Well, maybe not a giant mole, but something like that – "

Naruto looked at Sakura, who looked at Sasuke, who was looking at Kakashi.

That excuse…

Was really…..

Lame………...


	2. Naruto's Idea

Wow, thanks for the reviews, guys. I'm really grateful! Yeah, I know I still have another story to complete in a different anime category but I've put that on hiatus for now. Anyhoo, here comes the second part of this story:

PS. I think I've done a character who is Mary Sue… unfortunately. Can you spot her? Lol.

**Part 2**

**Naruto's Idea:**

**Search for the Perfect Bachelorette!**

**-**

**-**

"If Kakashi really needs a woman, he'd better find one fast. I've had enough."

Sakura and Naruto turned round at Sasuke. The three were just walking back to their homes after a long tiring D-rank mission – this time they had to build an irrigation ditch and pump to get water into a farmer's field. Everything D-ranked seemed to be a chore – well, the Hokage and Iruka-sensei had explained it to them before – rookies have to work their way up, but it was getting really tiresome.

"Yosha! Even Sasuke(-moron) agrees with me!" Naruto shouted, whispering the 'moron', but Sasuke still heard and glared at him.

"Are you sure it's not your stupid _Sexy no Jutsu_ that's finally working it's way not only to your appearance, but also to your thoughts?" Sakura mumbled. "But still, if Sasuke agrees then… we'll try and find him a girl."

"Alright! We'll start first thing tomorrow!" Naruto cheered. Then his stomach growled, "I think… I think I'll go get meself some ramen!" He sang.

"If we're finished, I'm going home now." Sasuke said calmly.

"Yeah, me too." Sakura added.

"Remember to meet up at the Ichiraku ramen tomorrow, same time tomorrow!" Naruto called out to them.

Sakura waved to him, Sasuke just dug his hands into his pockets and made his way home silently. Sheesh, talk about being a stick in the mud; Naruto decided to go to the said ramen stand and get a late night snack. But, before he set foot, he saw a shadow from the corner of his eye.

The streets weren't dark yet, just merely becoming covered in the normal orange glow when the sun sets on Konoha Village. The streets were quite empty, a discarded piece of newspaper whirled across Naruto's feet – and his blue eyes crossed suspiciously around the street. Everything was quiet, and Naruto shrugged it off. It was probably just a cat or something. Cheerfully, Naruto marched down the street towards the ramen stand before – another shadow swished past a bush and stopped behind a tree just a foot away from him. Naruto stopped, and blinked. What was it? Suddenly, he felt his legs moving on its own towards the tree, and once he arrived at the roots, he peeped over. There was a hunched over figure there, sitting behind the tree with its back to him, but realising Naruto's presence, it slowly turned round, and Naruto came face to face with bright, green glowing eyes.

"Agh!" He stepped back as the figure rose up slowly, and stepped away from the tree. Naruto blinked and looked at the person. "Wah! Aren't you meant to be in prison?"

"Don't remind me. This is all your fault, laddie." The girl propped her sunglasses back up over her eyes (which action reminded him of Ebisu) and dusted the dirt off her clothes, which just consisted of a plain t-shirt and shorts.

"I should turn you in, right now!" Naruto shouted angrily at her. "Kaka-sensei told me everything about you! You're a phoney and a liar!"

The girl stared at him for a few seconds, before quickly she broke off into a sprint towards the Ninja academy. "You talk too much!" She yelled as she ran down the street.

"Matte! I'm not going to let you get away with it!" Naruto exclaimed, before chasing her down the street. "Get back here!"

She grimaced. Why does this always happen to her? What kind of life did she lead? First, she was put in jail, and then she dug out. Now she's being hunted down by a twelve year old kid, what next? She slammed into something, and fell back.

"Ow! What the - ?"

She came face to face with eerie black dot eyes.

_ANBU….._

Naruto followed her down the alleyway, before seeing three figures emerge out from it –two guards with an animal mask and black robes, holding down a struggling sunglasses-clad girl. "Phew, at least she's caught." The sunglasses girl stared at Naruto straight in the eye with clenched teeth as she was taken out, he gulped slightly. He watched the ANBU take her away back to the Hokage.

"At least I know that she won't be going anywhere."

**The Next Morning…**

Naruto was still thinking about that sunglasses-girl. However, Operation 'Trying-to-find-Kakashi's-Perfect-Girl' commenced and he soon forgot all about her. Sakura and Sasuke met up with Naruto at the park in the early morning right when the markets opened, before splitting up into different directions, when each found a nominated girl, they would return back here and wait. Naruto had drawn up a list from the night before after he witnessed the travelling saleswoman being re-arrested and protruded it out to them. They agreed to the terms (with Naruto explaining the rules – he pulls down a whiteboard and takes out a cane, pointing the tip to the words listed below, lol):

1) Kakashi-sensei must not know what they are trying to do for the time being

2) Each who find a nominee they think might suit Kakashi-sensei, must also not know other nominees

3) Other jounins and friends of Kakashi-sensei must not know either, for they might interfere

**Starting with Naruto….**

"Bah, this'll be easy." Naruto said to himself as he started downtown. Sakura went uptown, and Sasuke departed into the woods; Naruto sniggered. "Like as if that moron will ever find a girl there." He wandered around, staring at girls in shops, on the streets, everywhere, before he passed the Ichiraku ramen, Naruto's favourite place, and his stomach growled – he hadn't had breakfast yet.

"Ne, I suppose having breakfast wouldn't hurt…" Then he thought again. "Iie! I can't have ramen divert my attention from helping Kaka-sensei!" yet, his stomach protested, and he ran inside, sitting on an empty chair, slapping the counter repeatedly to get the shopkeeper's attention. "One bowl of Shrimp Ramen please!"

**With Sakura….**

As much as Sakura wanted to search with Sasuke, she believed the woods weren't exactly a good choice, therefore stuck to town, which was filled with civilisation as the woods were filled with animals. Now, she pondered – what kinds of women did Kakashi-sensei like? Yet again, Kakashi didn't seem to show interest in any woman they had met so far – he's been too engrossed with his books – Sakura sunk into deep consideration – maybe he should get married to the book instead. With that thought, she giggled to herself hysterically.

"Kakashi-sensei should be suited perfectly with a woman as smart as he is." She said to herself. "Kurenai-sama could be a good nominee – but she's busy…. And Kaka-sensei seems more friends with her than being lovers…" Conveniently, she arrived at the bookstore, where Kakashi purchased his _Icha Icha_ books.

Sakura entered, and immediately went into the 'non-fiction' side, looking through gaps in bookshelves where people would be seen browsing through books or reading them at the spot. She spotted one particular pretty girl, and stepped up casually, trying not to look suspicious, and looked at the cover of the book she had. And it said - "Taijutsu for Dummies."

Sakura frowned, and walked past. She found another girl – this time, she was reading 'Laws and the Facets of the Existence of Discipline'. Nah, this girl was too smart. Another girl Sakura found was at the Ninjutsu section, curiously, Sakura sidled up. The girl was reading: "The Hungry Little Summoned ANBU Anteater." It was a book for young children. Sakura sweatdropped.

Sighing, the pink hared girl walked back up, and she spotted the adult graphic novels section by which was opposite the Biography section. The whole shelf was filled with the _Icha Icha_ stuff – hoping that no-one would see her, Sakura quickly marched over, and swallowed, wistfully expecting to see a woman amongst the shelves, only to see other middle aged men with a sordid and dodgy look on their faces as they were reading these books… Of course, Sakura felt a bit silly – any woman would be disgusted to see these things in a man's pocket, so why would a woman even like these kinds of stuff? Sakura walked back to the front door, just going past the counter, where a woman was just being served – and a familiar looking orange book peeped out from her bag amongst some other books.

Sakura froze.

Could that be….

An _Icha Icha_ book?

It was a woman – buying an _Icha Icha Paradise_ book (!).

Sakura struck gold!

**With Sasuke…**

He wondered why he let Naruto influence him like this. Going on a search to find a girl for their sensei? He grumbled – that's just stupid. Instead, Sasuke had used the time he had to himself to train, and he was glad Sakura didn't follow him this time – he needn't some thinking space. He seated himself high on a tree branch above a spot he found to be secluded, and took out his flute, before; he placed his lips over the delicate instrument, and began playing. The sweet tune was carried off into the woods, floating amongst the soft breeze, and somehow, Sasuke believed he heard a response.

A response – just underneath him at ground level.

The tree he was in was quite high, so Sasuke leapt down to the ground from tree to tree which took some time, and he realised that the atmosphere at this level was kind of misty, and there was a sound of running water…. He looked at the water's edge, there seemed to be an oil spill leaking over the water, and a few fish were floating upside down in the current, clearly dead. And he could someone 'singing' tunelessly...

_Having a bath is what I despise the most_

_Getting squeaky clean is what boys adore though_

_Perfume on face_

_Shampooed hair_

_Painted feet_

_Body lotion on skin_

_Make everything nice 'n neat_

_People find me as an ecological threat_

_Fish die when they smell my sweat…._

……………

Okay……..?

(A/N: I know it's not really a song, but... please bear with me)

Sasuke was….. grossed out. It wasn't much of a song… more like some kind of chant. He turned to leave, accidentally stepping on invisible twig he hadn't seen on the floor before. The singing stopped – Sasuke… began to sweat and stayed rigid on his spot, unable to move. The bush in which he was hiding under suddenly got cut in half right in front of him, just narrowly missing his nose.

"Well, well." The woman said as she gazed at him with her dark red eyes. "Lookie here, this must be the youngest pervert in history…"

Sasuke's face reddened when he realised this tall woman was just wearing a towel, hair wet and everything – droplets of water trickling over her skin, an overly large shuriken which had cut the bush in half was held in her grasp. But on the other hand, he thought….

**Back to Naruto….**

"Ah!" The blondie let out a satisfied belch, before sitting back on the stool, patting his full stomach. "That's another bowl finished! I have enough room, for seconds! Another bowl, arigatou!" He called to the shopkeepers, waving the empty bowl up and down.

The old-ghost-of-a-man shopkeeper re-emerged from behind a beaded curtain which led to another room of the kitchen at the counter, and he collected Naruto's bowl, before going back inside. "Ne, Fukushima-san, there's another bowl for you to clean."

Naruto could hear a loud splash – obviously the old man had dropped the bowl into a bucket of other dirty dishes.

"Teme!" An angry voice shouted from behind the curtain. Naruto stopped picking at his teeth and glanced over (A/N is it 'teme', or 'deme' by the way? I couldn't decide). "Where are these pile of dirty dishes coming from! I'm not even finished the first batch yet! Who could be such a pig and eat all this ramen in one go?"

"Fukushima-san, don't be so impolite. Ayame-chan can teach you a thing or two to speed things up." The shopkeeper told this rather loud-mouthed girl. "It's as if you've never even worked before. Get a move on!"

"Che, I am only 19 years old." The girl moaned, she picked up a dish and began scrubbing at it furiously. "And I've never done these kinds of jobs before."

"19 years old? You ought to be ashamed of yourself – at such an age and you've never worked before? You're lucky Hokage-sama had mercy on you. Ayame, please help Fukushima-san."

"It's _Oyo-chan_!"

"Hai… Hai." The old man said.

The ramen girl named Ayame sauntered over and kneeled down beside this girl named 'Oyo-chan'. From what Naruto had heard, this girl seemed rather rude and lazy. "Ah, Oyo-chan, you're not washing them properly - Oyo-chan! You don't put clean dishes on the floor! Oyo-chan, why is there so much bubbles? You were only supposed to put in a few drops of detergent! Oyo-chan, where did you get this sponge from? It looks like the one used to wash the bin - "

Naruto sweatdropped.

"Okay, Oyo-chan. I'd better take charge of cleaning the dishes. Our customers are getting rather demanding, you help us take their orders, please."

"Fine, fine, Ayame-chan." Oyo got up, wiped her hands on her apron, and took the bowl of ramen from the kitchen counter. "Ayame-chan, who ordered this?"

"The blonde boy on the left. Can't miss him." She replied.

Oyo nodded and pulled the curtain apart, before stepping out.

Naruto gaped at her.

She stared at him.

"NOT YOU AGAIN!" They shouted in unison.

It was the travelling saleswoman, this time, she had lost the trench jacket and was wearing a pale blue yukata and an apron with chicks sewn on the pocket, but she still kept her sunglasses on though. The hat was replaced with a white clothes tied around her head. She groaned as she set out the bowl in front of Naruto, seeing as he was the only blonde customer there. "Ne, why do I keep bumping into you, laddie?"

"I live here, duh." He pointed to his forehead protector, "What about you? I thought you were arrested." He said suspiciously.

"Ne, I'm not a bad person. I just sold copied scrolls from the original to people. You don't trust me, do you?"

"Not on your life!"

"Look, I was pardoned and cleared by Hokage-sama – had to wait for 12 hours in jail first all yesterday night and this morning. I'm tired to the core. The Hokage said that I could be a citizen in this darling peaceful village as long as I changed my ways – ie, I'm not allowed to sell anymore, and make money normally by getting a job. I agreed." Oyo said as she sat down in front of him behind the counter. "And my name is Fukushima Oyoshi, so you can stop calling me 'lady'. You can call me _Oyo-chan_ for short. What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." He lifted up his bowl of ramen. "Why are you working _here_ anyway?"

"Well, the ramen stand seems to be the most favourite place in this village – possibly even a tourist attraction - and there's a lot of customers, so they'll need a lot of people to help out, boy were I surprised when I only saw this old man and Ayame-chan here." Oyo replied. "And… I like ramen."

"Good. Me too, I looooooove ramen. Whoever invented it, I must thank them." Naruto finished slurping the noodles and smiled at her, before dropping half of them down. "Ah! Hot, hot, hot!"

"Naruto-kun, you shouldn't be such a pig and take some time to actually enjoy your meal." She said. "And look at the state of you, no napkins whatsoever." She protruded out a flannel and handed it to him.

"Arigatou, Oyo-chan." He took the flannel and wiped his face, realising that he had a piece of scallop attached on his cheek. He handed it back to her, but she indicated that he could keep it for the time being. "Ano – Oyo-chan, have you really changed your ways?"

"Of course I have! But I recently made this gadget and I'm trying to sell it." She looked around doubtfully, and then took out a pair of chopsticks.

"What's with that?" He said. "They look normal."

"Ah… wait till I add this on." She turned away from him, began fixing something, and then turned back round to Naruto. "Look! Chopsticks fitted with a mini-fan!"

Indeed, the pair of chopsticks was fitted with a fan – the kind of ones Temari uses for a weapon, except, this one was really, really, really microscopic compared to it, and definitely not used as a weapon. "You press this button here – " She pressed a funny looking switch, and then, the fan began moving up and down. "And you can use it while you eat ramen so you won't get burned. I remembered I had it when you just went 'hot, hot, hot'. Well, go ahead and try it. You can be my new rat to test my products on."

Naruto accepted the modelled chopsticks and put down the other pair, then he pulled the switch, and as he used the chopsticks to lift up the ramen from the bowl, the fan would blow away the hot steam coming from it. Naruto laughed. "That's funny!"

"You can test it out for some time. I'm still developing it."

"Gee, Oyo-chan, you sure are smart, thinking of such cool things."

She blushed behind the sunglasses. "Me – smart? Oh, no, I couldn't be – hehehehe… But thanks, Naruto-kun; you're my first friend here, we are… 'friends', right?"

"Of course." Naruto said, mouthful of noodles.

Oyo smiled faintly, and watched him finish off his noodles. "Boy, you sure are a fast eater."

Naruto patted his stomach. "I think that's me done. Well, I'd better pop off now." He paid her, before leaping off the stool. But then, just before he left, he remembered. "Oyo-chan?"

"Ya?" She finished counting the money and stuffed it into the till behind the counter.

"You remember…. Kakashi-sensei, right?"

Oyo thought. "Oh, that guy who arrested me the last time when I first met you? Hai, I do. What about him?"

Naruto grinned wolfishly again.

**With Sakura….**

The girl had tagged the woman for some time now, following her to the female toilets of the market, down to the park, past the woods and even back downtown. Sakura was tired. Eventually, the stalked woman, who had mousy brown hair tied into a low ponytail over one shoulder, and was wearing a flower print t-shirt, made a stop to a flower shop. Sakura realised that this as Ino's family's flower shop.

Sakura eyed the woman wearily as she entered the flower shop, before stealthily and silently, Sakura slithered over and opened the door, hating the fact that there was a bell – meaning that whenever someone came, the owner would know.

"Ohayou, Sakura-chan!"

She winced, and waved at Ino behind the counter who was waving at her happily. "Ohayou, Ino-chan." She replied quietly, watching the woman from the corner of her eye.

"Hm? Sakura-chan, are you looking for something?" Ino asked.

"Ne? Ah… uh…. Just, er… browsing…" Sakura continued trailing the woman, who had delved deeper into the shop. "Don't mind me…"

"Ano… Sakura-chan?"

"Hai?"

"How is…. Sasuke-kun doing?"

"Eh? He's uh… okay…" Sakura leant off the counter and began to tail the woman. "Uh.. be back in a second, Ino-chan."

The blonde girl frowned at Sakura's retreating back. _Sakura-chan can be so selfish sometimes. I just wanted to know how Sasuke-kun was doing and she refuses to tell me._

With a small sweat drop, Sakura went into the deep winding maze of flowers on display, eventually finding a source – her shoe got caught on something that was sticking out, and Sakura almost tripped over.

"Oh! Gomen nasai!" A small voice squeaked from behind.

Sakura regained her balance and looked at the woman. She was average looking, with glasses perched on her nose, thin arms, pale skin, circles under her eyes – and in her hand was a pair of scissors, her other hand holding a stem of a flower. In front of her was an _Icha Icha_ book… The woman was sitting cross legged on the floor, and she moved her foot – which Sakura had tripped over. "Oh… that's alright…" Her gaze landed on the book. "That book…"

The woman looked at her _Icha Icha_ book, burned bright red and quickly closed it. "J-Just a pastime of mine, that's all…."

Inwardly, Sakura smiled.

**Later….**

At the end of the day, the trio re-gathered at the park. Naruto was hogging a park bench all to himself, Sakura sat on the swing, and Sasuke was just perched on top of a tree with his eyes closed.

"Ne." Naruto began, "I still can't believe Sasuke found himself a nominee." He giggled.

Sasuke flushed visibly, remembering what happened in the afternoon. Sakura frowned slightly. "Well, what about _you_, Naruto?" She asked.

"I got the best fish in the sea, Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed. "She broke out of jail, and is working in the Ichiraku ramen stand! She's inventive and funny!"

Sakura sweat dropped as she thought. _In this case, she'll be just the female counterpart of Naruto…? _"You found a criminal? And you think Kakashi might be interested in her?"

"Yes I have the utmost confidence in her." Naruto replied. "What about you, Sakura-chan?"

"I found a woman who likes those _Icha Icha Paradise_ books Kakashi-sensei reads..." Sakura replied proudly. Inner Sakura: "Hah! Top that! I've won, you losers!"

Sasuke and Naruto almost choked.

_Darn her…_ Naruto and Sasuke thought to themselves with a frown; Naruto jutting out his lower lip fiercely at Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"………." There was a slight silence. "She can fight." Sasuke mumbled as he looked to the side.

Naruto clasped his hands together, "Well, we all found a nominee. But who's going to… capture Kakashi-sensei's heart?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "That sounds so wrong….Do you think Kakashi-sensei will like what we're planning for him? It feels wrong."

And Inner Sakura: "OMG! This feels so interesting! This is just like those _Blind Date_ game shows!"

**The Next Day….**

"Sakura-chan? Why are we at a flower shop?" Kakashi asked, as the pink haired girl literally dragged him over downtown right after their mission, although they were all tired and hungry, but Sakura, she was determined for Kakashi to meet _her_, even though Sakura was in a bad state.

"I want you to help me to pick out some flowers for er… a wedding." She quickly blurted out. She didn't care if she was lying – all she wanted was to have this day done and over. Naruto and Sasuke were moodily following – the trio had agreed over lunch without Kakashi's presence that he would have to meet their nominees without knowing. Sakura, being the first – as she won the rounds in _Rock, Paper, Scissors_, best 2 out of 3 – apparently, Sasuke hadn't taken part – Naruto frowned at him. That Sasuke moron was over-confident with his nominee. He wondered why. Unfortunately Oyo-chan would have to meet Kakashi some other time – not that Naruto really cared – after all, she had met their sensei before in a bad start, but hopefully, the two could work something out?

Sakura pushed the door open, and Ino looked up. "Ohayou – AAGHH! Sasuke-kun!" Her blue eyes sculpted into lovehearts and she dashed out of the counter, grabbing onto Sasuke's arm. "How nice of you to visit me! Did you miss me, Sasuke-kun?" She said in a sweet puppy-dog voice.

The other rejected girl had dangerous shadows over her eyes. "Hey, Ino! Sasuke is with ME!" Sakura pulled Sasuke's other arm towards her, letting go of Kakashi who joined Naruto's lone self in the corner.

"Shut up, Forehead-Girl!"

Sakura went bright pink to match her hair.

"I-I-Ino-pig!" Sakura screamed back.

And the bickering began.

"You feeling rejected too, Naruto?" Kakashi joked as he stood beside the blonde boy who was glaring daggers at Sasuke.

Naruto nodded slightly. "Sasuke. I. Hate. Him!" He said under gritted teeth. This was so unfair! How come no girls fought over him? Naruto went to a lone corner, spotlight focused on him, he began drawing circles with his finger on the ground. But still, watching Sasuke with his eyes closed, arms 'crossed', being jerked by the arm from left to right by two arguing girls didn't tickle Naruto's fancy.

Amidst the brightly coloured, sweet smelling fragrance of the flowers, Kakashi spotted a rose haired girl in the centre of the flowery rows, her green eyes behind her glasses glanced up at him from her book, before she realised that he was staring back at her – she looked from side to side in a quirky manner, before looking back into her book, her face reddening. She was reading a large book, called 'Hokage's 4th Theorem', and also watering the plants in progress. The girl hid behind her book even more.

Kakshi looked at his students – they seemed preoccupied; Ino, Sasuke and Sakura engaged in a heated discussion (or fight) and a fierce game of tug-of-war – Naruto was just brooding – that's a hobby for him to do now. Kakashi wandered up to the girl, hands in his pockets.

"Hi."

She didn't realise that he had come up from behind her, and she dropped her watering can, and the book – or shall it be said – 'books'? She squeaked and turned round.

"Gomen ne." Kakashi said to her sheepishly. "Didn't mean to frighten you."

"I-It's okay, s-sir."

He bent down to collect her things and she went down as well – she hastily collected her book, and he got the watering can, before she stood back up awkwardly. Kakashi got back up as well, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, you missed something – " Kakashi stared at the orange cover of the small book that was perhaps, had been lying under her 'Hokage's 4th Theorem'. "Icha Icha Paradise….?"

Her face flushed as he picked it up, she quickly grabbed it from him and hid it behind into her opened 'Hokage's 4th Theorem' – the way she had put her big book in front of her _Icha Icha_ _Paradise_… so, she was secretly reading the _Icha Icha _book instead…. "Uh….." She bit her lip and looked away uncomfortably.

"Hai." She added. "It's… my uh… book – I read it… during my… um… leisure time…." She coughed. Gawd, this was so embarrassing – now this polite looking man would really think she is a pervert.

Kakashi brought out of his own from her pocket, and her eyes widened, glasses falling over her nose. "Ah… you read it too?" She squeaked at him, holding up the book.

He nodded in response, eye curled – he was smiling. "Jiraiya's work is the best. You?"

She smiled awkwardly. "It's one of my favourites…"

And meanwhile, Naruto's jaw was dropping as he watched the scene. "What's… happening?"

Finally, the two girls let go of him and Sasuke almost sailed into a bush at the corner, but managed to keep his balance. He thought; _this is lame…_

Team 7 were now gawking at their sensei.

Sakura cheered inwardly. _Yes! Score 1 for me!_

**Evening….**

God, couldn't Kakashi put a sock to it? He had been rambling on non-stop about the scene at the flower shop – about Tsukashi Hana – the woman who works part time in that shop, and who shares an interest of reading _Icha Icha Paradise_ books as a piece of 'artwork' as she claimed, by Jiraiya-sama, while Kakashi just reads it 'just to see what happens next'. They were at the ramen stand; Naruto had deliberately pushed Kakashi right at the spot where he could get a good glimpse of Oyo-chan in the kitchen, whilst he sat beside him, then Sakura, then Sasuke. Kakashi still hadn't stopped talking.

"This is extremely rare – Naruto – treating me to ramen?" Kakashi said as he looked at Naruto, who smiled back at him. "Are you guys getting something?"

Naruto nodded convincingly.

Sakura looked at her hands. _I wonder who Naruto has found. He said she had went to jail… would she be this scary-looking woman? _

"Well, Kakashi-sensei seems sure pleased to have met a girl who likes those dirty books as much as he does." Naruto said under his breath. He hurriedly pressed on the bell numerous times to get the 'waitress' to serve them.

"Oyo-chan, could you get that?" Ayame's voice was heard from in the kitchen.

"Hai, hai – " The beaded curtain was parted, and out came a rather worn out Oyo, adorned in the same pink apron with the chicks and words 'Piyo Piyo' on the pouch. "Oh, Naruto-kun, you're here – and these must be your little friends!"

Kakashi stopped talking and glanced at her, before tiredly; he took out his book and set it in front of him. Sakura waved sheepishly at the girl. _What's the sunglasses for?_ _Is… Is this the girl Naruto found? Ne, she looks scrawny and small. How can she be a criminal?_

Sasuke silently eyed her cautiously. _This is the criminal?_

"Guys, meet Oyo-chan!" Naruto said proudly, gesturing to the blue haired girl who stared back at them behind the sunglasses. "This is Sakura-chan – and that over there is Sasuke. And you remember our teacher, _Kakashi-sensei_ from last time, don't you?"

She turned to Kakashi with half lidded eyes (which couldn't be seen behind her sunglasses), "Ne, oyaji, you're here too?" Oyo sneered at the jounin.

"Oyo-san?" He blinked at her dully.

"Yup, it's me. You're wondering why I'm out of jail, isn't that right?" She said with hands on her hips.

Kakashi pondered. "Actually, no, Gai told me some time ago, I'm just wondering why you've chosen this career." He remembered her the first time he met her – she was a trench coat clad sneaky saleswoman. He could see she hadn't ditched the sunglasses yet though. However, the hat was substituted with a white cloth tied around the crown of her head.

"I like ramen -" She merely replied, "- Oyaji." She added cheekily.

A small vein popped in Kakashi's head. "My name is _Hatake Kakashi_, I told you this before." Sheesh, what was wrong with this girl? She stuck her tongue out at him and licked her finger in a slobberish manner, before using it to separate the paper on the pad, a pen clutched in the other hand.

"Whatever, _Hatake-san_. Now, how may I take your order?" She asked lazily.

At that point, Kakashi smirked under his mask.

**Later….**

Oyo re-emerged out with four bowls of ramen – Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura ordered the same as one another, whilst Kakashi went daring, he ordered Superior Rice Vermicelli with extra pepper. Ooh (that's a very spicy dish, I think). She gave them each her special fans for their chopsticks. Naruto already having a pair of his own. Sasuke stared at the gadget, before using them, and Sakura seemed to have thought that they were quite cute.

"Three bowls of Chicken Vegetable ramen – " Oyo placed the hot bowls in front of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto, before looking at Kakashi. "And the Rice Vermicelli – Enjoy your meal, don't forget to leave a tip." She said monotonously, as if she was reciting a verse (which she was doing).

The students split the wooden chopsticks in half, and attached the fan on. Naruto almost began to gobble everything up in his dish in a matter of seconds, and was waving the empty bowl at Oyo again. Oyo wiped her forehead and placed a hand on her hip – she wasn't too glad that the only customers were these four – it was getting late, almost when the store was about to close. Ayame and the old man were already cleaning up most of the pots, ready to withdraw for the night. Oyo turned to head back into the kitchen.

"Wait, Oyo-san."

She looked at Kakashi, "What is it?"

"Why is there a fly in my bowl?" He pointed to his noodles. Naruto didn't stop slurping, Sakura and Sasuke stopped though.

She blinked. "Ha?" And she wandered over to him, and looked into his bowl. There was a visible black dot on the surface of the soup, twitching. Her mouth formed a tiny 'o'. "Oh…. Er… gomen?" Oyo took his bowl back in. Customer guarantee/refund – they were allowed to have their money back – or a refill if they were not satisfied with the meal. Kakashi wanted another bowl.

Oyo looked back at the perfectly hot, steaming bowl of Rice Vermicilli. "What's wrong, Oyo-chan?" Ayame asked.

"There's a fly in the noodles." She replied.

"Pour it down the drain."

She did so, at first, the noodles went into the bin, before she went over to the sink to pour the soup – then – _POOF_! Oyo blinked. The fly was replaced with a little leaf.

Oyo stared.

_He tricked me! Why that no good, annoying little, gut wrenching –_

DING! DING! DING!

"What's taking so long?" Kakashi was shouting. "Oyo-san! I'm getting hungry! What terrible service!"

His students stared at him. _What's wrong with Kakashi-sensei? _

With gritted teeth, Oyo came back out with another bowl, and placed it in front of Kakashi. "There. Enjoy your meal." _And I hope you choke on it!_

Kakashi eyed it warily. "Matte,"

Oyo turned back round.

"This ramen looks like… it's made out of plain medium flour…" He murmured.

"And?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm allergic to that kind of flour." He pushed the bowl away from him. "I want buckwheat."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all sweatdropped. _Nani? What is Kakashi-sensei doing? Oyo is getting pissed._

There was a silence. "Ohhhhh." Oyo drawled with sarcasm. "Well, _excuuuuse_ me." She snatched the bowl from him and went back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, she came out yet again. "There, buckwheat flour, no fly. Enjoy."

"Oyo-san?"

"What now?"

"The lettuce isn't to the left. I like everything to the left." He said, there was a visible smirk under his mask.

Naruto stuffed his knuckles to his mouth. _Kakashi-sensei is deliberately pushing her buttons - !_

Oyo took the chopsticks out from his hands, and prodded the lettuce to the left. Kakashi blinked drearily. "Oyo-san?"

"Oh, sorry." She said mockingly, "That's _my_ left." She furiously poked the lettuce to his left, "Happy now?"

He nodded. "Hai, hai, arigatou." Then he slipped his finger to the tip of his mask, about to pull it down but first – he sniffed it, "Oyo-san?"

Her teeth clenched. "Yes?"

"I can tell there's not enough chilli sauce."

She took the bowl away from him and stomped back into the kitchen. Sakura and Sasuke watched her, and then glanced at Kakashi. "What?" he said with a shrug.

Inside, she deliberately added half of the bottle as she glared at him from behind the curtain furiously. "Oyo-chan, are you okay?" Ayame asked as she finished cleaning out a large pot.

"Yes. I'm fine." Oyo went back out to the open. "Buckwheat flour, no fly, lettuce to the left, added chilli sauce." She shoved it under his nose, and then she irately marched back into the kitchen.

_DING DING!_

She grimaced. What now?

"Too much sauce," He complained.

"What? But you haven't even tasted it yet!" She barked at him, pointing to the ramen.

He tapped his nose. Her fists tightened – oh, how she really wanted to strangle him! But with contained anger welling inside her, she smiled sincerely at him, took his bowl from his hands and dawdled back into the kitchen.

At the same time of making a voodoo doll of dough and naming it 'Hatake Kakashi', and having to re-cook the same dish again, having to open a new pack of buckwheat flour, chopping up lettuce, boiling water and dumping in other vital ingredients, Oyo finally entered the front, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looking at her as she smiled cheerfully at them.

_Such patience!_ Sakura thought with admiration, she had looked at Naruto's way.

One hand holding the bowl, the other behind her back squishing the flour out of her dough voodoo doll, Oyo gave the bowl to Kakashi sweetly.

Kakashi immediately started. "On second thought, I'm not hungry anymore."

Oyo's jaw dropped, so did the students. "Why, you-you-!" Then her hand rose slowly, still holding the bowl, she was about to –

Inner Oyo 1: Matte! Humiliating a jounin in front of his students – isn't that a bit nasty?

Inner Oyo 2: Who cares? He's humiliated you far enough! He's nasty!

Inner Oyo 3: Yeah, I know… but…. He is still a customer, what if we lose our jobs?

Inner Oyo 1: Okay, she has a point, better keep it cool….

Kakashi blinked at her, she seemed to have frozen on the spot – before she blinked, and slumped. "Oh… I – where am I again? Oh yes, I'll just take this back in…. But first - Eat this!" She threw the voodoo doll at him. Kakashi ducked in time and it went flying onto the street, landing at some walker's feet.

Crickets chirped.

Then –

_Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!_

"Shall we go now, Kakashi-sensei? I think Oyo-chan is angry…" Naruto mumbled, as he stared at the red-faced girl who was breathing heavily on the spot, steam billowing out of her ears, ramen bowl on the table which seemed dangerously within her range to be grabbed at and hurled at any unsuspecting person namely Kakashi – Naruto gulped.

Kakashi blinked, "Hai, might as well. Money's on the table."

Sakura pointed out, "But Kakashi-sensei – Naruto was meant to – "

"Sakura-chan, it doesn't matter. Well, ja-ne, Oyo-san. I'll see you when you've toned down." Kakashi said to her, with a small wink.

Oyo stopped seething, and instead, gave him the most diabolical evil and dark glare she could ever muster, before turning on her heels and disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei. Why did you make Oyo-chan so mad?" Naruto asked.

"I was just teasing her. I'll… go see how she's doing." Kakashi waved to them, and then sat back at the same stool, pressing the bell. This time, Ayame came out. Kakashi looked at her, "Ne, where is Oyo-chan?"

"Uh… She's just brooding by herself at the back door, but she'll be okay in a few minutes. May I take your order?"

"No, thank you, I was just checking up on her. How is she?"

"Well… she's really... angry…" Ayame muttered. _What hashe done to poor Oyo-chan? Kakashi-san is normally well-being and generous... _

Kakashi got up from his stool and wandered to the back. There was the girl, in a ferocious moody breakdown, her bottom lip sticking out as she frowned – she was infuriated. How dare he mock her in front of Naruto and his friends! She had never felt so humiliated in her life! Oyo was busy tormenting a metal soup ladle, bending it into different shapes and sizes as she cursed loudly – passer bys were giving her odd glances.

"That bastard, dirty, low down, good for nothing – "

"Yo." He said casually to her, giving her a small salute.

She stared at him, and then bent the soup ladle in half – Kakashi noticed the murderous wave of force that was being emitted from her. "YOU! What do **you **want now! Haven't you embarrassed me enough in front of your students!" She screamed, so loudly that her voice echoed around the streets.

Kakashi thought she was going to explode from the inside soon if she didn't cool off – and people were really beginning to give them odd looks. "Oyo-san, calm down." He sat down beside her on the back door step, but she shoved him off.

"Get way from me! You're a creep! You're evil! You're a horrible man! You're – "

He shut her up by placing a palm over her mouth; she immediately pulled him away from her.

"Get your filthy hands off me!"

"Oyo-san – "

"What have I ever done to deserve to meet you in my life!"

"Oyo-san – "

"You, out of all people, are sad! S.A.D. **SAD!** You get your sick kicks from making me suffer, don't you? My mother was right. Konoha is filled with nasty men like you!"

"O – "

"First, you arrest me, then as I dig out from jail half-dead, I end up in your pla - " She stopped.

Kakashi stopped. "What… did you say?"

"Nothing."

He gave her the most uncomfortable stare, ever. "That was you, wasn't it? You're the one who broke into my house."

"………….. So…… So what? I didn't steal anything, honest! All I done was just return you to bed and leave, it was so pathetic seeing you all drunk and gunk."

"Oyo-san!" He shouted feverishly.

She winced and gulped, and now he was really angry… then she suffered from a ten minute lecture by Kakashi.

**Those ten minutes later… **

"… You didn't see anything, did you?" He decided to give her a second chance, and not turn her in (but what would be the charges anyway? He already had the hole patched up).

She stopped. "As in… your face?" He stared, hard at her and she gulped again. "No. I didn't want to see your face. Anyway, you're probably butt ugly." She said with a snort as she brushed her hair back. "Now go away!"

He glared at her with the half lidded eye. "Look, I'm sorry, okay, I was just messing with you at the stand." Then he smiled.

Oyo frowned. "What are you smiling about? You deliberately made me provide exceptional service!"

"And?"

"Oh, you're so annoying! Leave me alone!" Oyo didn't care if he was going to kill her or not now. She was F.U.R.I.O.U.S.

"Just calm down first…" He patted her on the shoulder – she was going to bite off his hand so he withdrew it quickly. "Take deep breaths."

Oyo realised that she was going to explode sooner or later, so she swallowed and began to exhale and inhale normally.

"Good. Are you feeling better?"

"Sorta." She hiccupped slightly. "You really are a jerk."

"So you say. But have you forgiven me?"

She shrugged and looked away. "I'm still angry at you."

He rolled his eye. "You know, I am quite hungry."

There were a few moments of silence.

She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "…….How may I take your order?" She mumbled incoherently.

**With Team 7, minus Kakashi…**

Well, that evening sure was eventful. Sasuke snickered at Naruto as the three walked back home. "Kakashi sure liked your nominee." He said, his voice oozing strict sarcasm.

"Shut up, you bastard! I don't know why Kakashi-sensei was annoying her!" Naruto reprimanded with his eyes closed, whiskers seemingly to be flaring. "What about yours? We've not seen her yet."

"Oh, she's already got her own plans." Sasuke replied with his hands in his pockets.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura started, beginning to get nervous. "Just who…. Did you find?"

**With Kakashi….**

Oyo's temper sure was rotten. Kakashi had just returned home, back from the ramen stand, after having a short normal talk with the girl who seemed to have forgiven him for the time being and treated him to a plain bowl of ramen, without him complaining or this time she really would strangle him.

As Oyo went back inside to get some salt for him, he quickly finished it. But instead, as Oyo came back out with the salt shaker, as most people were impressed with Kakashi's skill for being super speedy – she took it the wrong way.

"_Where's the ramen?" She asked. _

"_I ate it."_

"_No, you didn't. I was just gone a second, you couldn't have – " Then her brow furrowed. "What did you do to it?"_

"_I ate it." He repeated. _

"_Liar! No-one can eat so fast without getting indigestion or the hiccups, besides, the ramen was bloody hundred degrees hot straight from the bubbling pot, you couldn't have!" _

"_But I did."_

_He was greeted with a pan being thrown at his head. "How dare you waste my cooking!" Oyo screamed at him. _

He rubbed his head. The pan did come in contact with him – he had deliberately done so, as Oyo probably would be even angrier at him if it had missed. But she rubbered him once she had collected the now-bent pan as he tried to talk to her, and she trudged back into the kitchen. Kakashi left.

He had just taken off his shoes, and was still present at the landing before the doorbell rang. He opened the previously locked door and blinked at the person standing on his 'Home Sweet Home' mat.

The woman before him was tall, had long, curly black hair and was wearing a plain white t-shirt and black shorts. "Hi…" She drawled. The woman was buxom; pale skinned and had long elegant fingers that were currently resting on the collar of her t-shirt. She smiled at him, adding in a smile.

"Uh… how may I help you, miss?" He had a hard time staring at her (without drooling slightly).

"I just moved upstairs today – and there's a leak in the sink, can you have a look at it? You look like a strong man." She purred.

He swallowed. Oh god, he thought. This was just like a chapter from his book! And ooh, boy… was it hot in here, or was it just him? "Er… sure, miss." Wait – he didn't remember the landlord allowing someone to rent the apartment upstairs – hell, he didn't even remember the flat being there…. But – what the heck?

"Please," She said charmingly, putting a hand on his chest, the fingertips gently kneading at the soft fabric of his vest. "Call me _Leiko_."

**And now….**

He was still at Leiko's house – she had asked him to double check and tighten the pipes to the leaky sink whilst she sat on top of the washing machine eating a banana, and sipping an 'energy drink'. The leaky sink, Kakashi believed, seemed to have been self-afflicted – or else how could the bolt had just 'miraculously' sprung off a well welded pipe on its own?

Kakashi re-emerged from under the sink cabinet and replaced the spanner in the handyman box. "Well, that's it done. It should be fine now, Leiko-chan."

"Wah!" She cooed, hopping off the washing machine, smiling. "_Kakashi-kun_ is sooo smart."

He particularly liked the way how she said his name like that – with such fire, such passion. Ooh. It sent shivers down his spine. He closed his eye in bliss – yet. He snapped out of it, and cleared his throat. He was a well and rational man. He could control himself.

"Are you okay, _Kakashi-kun_?"

There she goes again.

Another tingle ran up his spine.

She had somehow stepped dangerously close to him, eyes boring into his, he was lucky his face was concealed behind the mask, or she wouldn't know how he was grinning and how much he was sweating underneath. He could feel her breath over him, and her sweet perfume from her body… he swallowed hard.

"Yes, I'm fine." He straightened and turned to leave, Leiko hanging off him.

"Aww, why don't you stay for dinner? I'm making _Pommes de Terre Dauphinoise, Lentilles_ _Braisees aux Lardous_ and _Salase Nicoise_… They're healthy **and** delicious…"

**Ahem, another little note from the authoress: **

**Pommes de Terre Dauphinoise: French Scalloped Potatoes**

**Lentilles Braisees aux Lardous: Lentils with Bacon**

**Salase Nicoise: Provencal Salad**

**They're all French dishes by the way. **

Kakashi remembered the ramen incident. "Uh… No thanks, Leiko-chan, but thanks for the offer. Good night." He entered her corridor, to the front door, before –

She latched behind him tightly, pressing him to the wall. "Matte – I haven't repaid you yet." She said slyly.

"Nani? That's unnecessary." He said with a visible sweatdrop.

She spun him around so he faced her. "Nonsense, you baka." She whispered in his ear, pressing onto him.

"No, really, Leiko-chan…" He said quietly ad nervously. "It's okay."

"I don't take 'no' as an answer, _Kakashi-kun_." And she grabbed him by the chin roughly, and planted a long kiss on over his mouth – well, over his mask, most like it.

Kakashi was speechless.

She broke off, both were breathing heavily. "You." She said heavily as she breathed. "Are a Sex God." She kissed him again, Kakashi found himself wrapping his arms around her – heck, it wasn't common that women threw themselves at him. They both fell onto the floor. It was cold and sore because of the planks – but who cared? Leiko broke off again, and began to kiss at his exposed skin, giggling in progress, then she lifted her hand up from his chest to pull down his mask to continue but –

"Kakashi-kun?" She looked at him in surprise.

"Gomen, Leiko-chan." He had stopped her, before she could lift it down and wriggled out from underneath her (rather unwillingly). "I should really go."

She smiled at him awkwardly and rolled off before getting back up, tidying her hair and clothes. "Well… if you insist. I-I'm glad I met you, Kakashi-kun."

He waved at her as she opened the door for him, and then shut the door behind him still bathing in that moment, his face all sweaty.

_Phew, that was close (!)._

-oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-

If you've noticed, Leiko's a bit of the Mary-Sue – heck, she's pretty and she fights. Bet you could probably see that, huh? Still, she has some dirty secrets. And I'm... not really sure if french cooking exists in Naruto, but... in my story it does! Lol.


	3. Thunderstorm

Thanks for the reviews guys. I really appreciate them. I know, this is a bit cliché and corny as my other stories are. I'm really trying to improve.

**Part 3**

**Thunderstorm **

**-**

**-**

**1 weeklater…**

"Kakashi-sensei is especially late." Naruto said angrily. Why wasn't this working as he had planned in mind?

"What are you implying?" Sasuke replied as he stared at Naruto from the corner of his eyes.

"I'm saying – since Kakashi-sensei met your nominee without us knowing, it's made him extra late than usual."

"Shh! He's here - !" Sakura said frantically.

The trio acted normal. Kakashi's book was gone from his hand today – that was new, he also had something new on his face as well. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto stared at him in a deathly silence as he strolled up to them.

"What?" Kakashi said, noticing their paling faces. "Is… something wrong?"

Naruto pointed accusingly at him. "That! What is **THAT**!"

Kakashi blinked, and wiped at the corner of his eye. Something red stained his fingertips. "Oh." He said as he wiped his face and his hands. "It's lipstick."

The trio's jaws dropped to the ground.

"From… who?" Sakura asked eagerly. Naruto and Sasuke behind her looked as eager as she did to find out.

"That's none of your business, now; shall we get on with our mission?" He replied.

**After the Mission…**

"Kekekeke! Kakashi-sensei is finally getting down to business!" Naruto elbowed the jounin as they walked back into the village. "So… who's the girl?"

"Naruto, stop it, Kakashi-sensei does not have to share his love life with you." Sakura frowned at him, and then she quickly ran over to Kakashi and whispered in his ear. "Is it Hana-chan? Is it? Is it?"

Kakashi's eye curled "You two are too young to mess in adult affairs."

"**Aha! So you are having an affair!**" Naruto exclaimed at the top of his voice. The whole village seemed to have stopped working, and everyone was staring at the group. Sakura burned red. Sasuke snorted yet his face was tainted with a spreading red hue, and Naruto had his mouth covered by Kakashi's hand.

"Heh, never mind Naruto…" Sakura quickly said, jabbing Naruto in the ribs feverishly.

The whole village began to work again as there was a few minutes of complete silence.

"Naruto! You pig! Watch what you say next time!" Sakura clonked him three times over the head with her fist.

"Itai!" The blonde boy winced, clutching his head. _Darn, Sakura-chan really does hit hard._

"Bah, you're so stupid." Sasuke said, ignoring the stares they received from passer-bys.

A vein in Naruto's head popped. "What was that, Sasuke-moron?" He belted at Sasuke angrily.

"Guys, guys, stop it." Kakashi broke them all up. "Let's just take a break – how about we go to the Ichiraku Ramen?" As he said that, the stand, which was about ten feet away from them, Oyo from behind the counter was giving Kakashi a continuous death glare (complete with daggers) as she bent another soup ladle in half. Kakashi immediately left eye contact with her. "…. Or maybe not – "

"Hatake-san!"

The group looked to the left to see a woman carrying a flower basket. "Hana-chan! Sakura said happily as she saw her running over, flowers jiggling out of the basket. The mousy haired woman stopped in front of them, panting. Sakura eyed her carefully – unfortunately, Hana wasn't wearing lipstick.

"Hi, n-nice to see you all…" She said breathlessly, gathering all the flowers back up and stuffing them back into the basket.

"Hana-chan, you should take a break." Kakashi said worryingly.

The woman propped up her glasses and smiled at him faintly. "I'm fine, r-r-really."

Meanwhile, Oyo was busy bending more ladles as she stared at the group who looked like ants in her view, leaning right off the counter to get a better view (customers edged away from her). _Nani? Who's that woman? Oyaji's girlfriend? Ne, she looks too smart and well-groomed for him. _

"So, d-do you wanna go out for lunch or something? I know this really great place – " Hana began, before she turned red in the face, and she looked away, muttering incomprehensibly to herself with her hands on her cheeks.

Naruto and Sasuke raised a brow. _What is she rambling to herself about?_

Kakashi opened his mouth – or he seemed to have – the mask just covered everything about him.

"_Sounds great_!" Sakura butted in. "Kakashi-sensei would love to go with you – " She looked at him. He looked back at her, before nodding curtly.

"… Sure." He said.

"Yatta!" Hana exclaimed, and then she stopped, flushing like mad. "I-I-I mean uh… great. Let's go then."

The trio watched Kakashi and Hana walk off together back down the street, both engaged in deep discussion, no doubt about _Icha Icha Paradise_ – the group could see Kakashi fumbling in his pocket again and protruding out a familiar orange book. Sakura was smiling at their retreating backs. "They look cute together."

"Says you, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, frowning. "I'm going to get some ramen."

**With Kakashi and Hana…**

After an appetising lunch at a posh restaurant, with Hana paying (even though Kakashi persisted that he should pay, she was even more stubborn and said that she should pay since she invited him) – they ventured down the streets, talking more about _Icha Icha Paradise_, Sakura was secretly tailing them from behind.

"I can't believe XXXX had an affair with OOOO when his twin brother XOXOX was on a two day holiday – " Hana was saying (Sorry, I've just censored the names from being mentioned about _Icha Icha Paradise_ because I can't be bothered to make them up, but I do know that a character named 'Junko' exists in it. I know it's irrelevant but I feel like doing this, just pretend that they aren't saying 'XXXX' and 'OOOO').

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Hai, I know. I can't understand how TTTT could dump CCCC for BBBB."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. Is that all they just talk about? Over some stupid, erotic, romantic novel for hapless people who've never experienced love (or for people who are just plainly sick minded – lol, like Kakashi)? Sheesh, maybe that's what Hana and Kakashi only have in common – just the fact that they like the book. Maybe Hana was the wrong nominee after all. Sakura should've tried Anko-san or Kurenai-san or even –

"What are you doing?"

Sakura shrieked at the new voice behind her, before turning round. Her face burned red furiously. "S-Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Doing what you're doing." He gazed back at her.

She just stared at him.

"Are you going to gape at me all day?" He looked back at her.

She shook her head fiercely. "I uh… just… following them. Care to uh… join me?"

He smirked.

Sasuke was unusually leaning a lot over Sakura's shoulder as they hid behind a wall, eyeing the two ahead of them. Sakura was trembling uncontrollably. She thought – now that Sasuke was so close to her that she could hear his heartbeat – she didn't know what to do. Sakura never thought it would come like this; she hadn't accounted for such close proximity…. She hadn't prepared what to do in this condition. She was lost for words and she was sweating profusely.

_Sasuke… he's so near me…. He's never been so close to me before. I – I – I'm in heaven!_

**Meanwhile…**

"Hey, Naruto-kun, who was that woman with you a while ago?"

Naruto sparked up and looked at the girl. Was Oyo jealous? He looked at her features - no, she looked rather peeved, than jealous. "A friend of Kakashi's." He replied simply.

"Oh…" Oyo muttered to herself, as she cleaned another bowl, placing it on the rack. She realised that Naruto was staring at her a lot as he was eating. "What?" She asked, waving a wooden spoon in front of his eyes.

"Nothing." Strange; Oyo wasn't wearing any lipstick. Then perhaps…. "NO WAY!" Naruto spat out his ramen, earning weird looks from the other customers. "I could not have lost to that Sasuke-bastard!"

"Naruto, watch your mouth!" Oyo snapped at him, and then she looked behind him, and smiled cheerily at the newcomer. "Oh – Ohayou!"

The blonde boy turned to see who was behind him. "Hinata-chan?"

**Later…**

"Hey, where are we?" Kakashi asked as they stopped in front of a small hut-like house. It was covered in flowers of all shapes, sizes and colours. A bit too extreme, Kakashi thought. It smelt strongly of other odours from the different flowers, and if Kakashi didn't have his mask on, he would've suffocated. The house itself also looked a bit… flowery.

Hana turned to him idly, pushing open the front gate. "This is my home."

A drop of sweat fell down Kakashi's temple. "Your home - ?"

"Hai… Why do you look so-so…. Nervous?" She said, looking down. "Do you think it's…. 'dolly'… as most think?"

He immediately apologised. "It's not that. It looks… nice." _Reminds of a Gingerbread House. _

She scratched her head with a lazy smile. "Arigatou, but it holds my secret." Then she looked down at him, a shadow casting over her eyes. Since when did… Hana look so… intimidating? She led him inside, and pointed to a newspaper article stuck on her kitchen – the only room they entered. Her home was awfully neat and tidy – and everything was decorated with flowers, to the tiles, to the cups. He could even hear a faint twittering of a bird somewhat residing up the stairs. Hana just loved nature – a bit too much. He looked at it, and then looked back at her.

"Your parents died in a fire accident…?" He murmured sympathetically.

She nodded briefly with hands clasped tightly at her lap. "I-I've been really alone." She gulped slightly. "I try my best to be nice and pleasant, and I read _Icha Icha_ for kicks, but really. I'm-I'm suffering. I think I… I trust you as a friend, Kakashi-san. That's why, I'm showing you this."

Then she glanced at a photograph with her in it, along with another woman. They both looked pretty close – Hana had her arm around her and they both sort of looked identical to one another in height. Kakashi presumed it to be her sister. She quickly looked away from it.

"Oh, Hana-chan." He put an arm on her shoulder when she went a bit quiet, and then, after a few moments, she pasted her cheek onto his chest and dug her head further into his jacket, Kakashi blinked. Why were so many women throwing themselves at him nowadays?

"Hold me, please. I want to feel it. I want to feel loved for once." She squeaked. "Just for once, then… then I'll be okay."

Kakashi awkwardly placed an arm over her as requested. She wasn't crying, but merely rubbing her cheek against him. He swallowed as it went on like that for some time. Hana re-opened her eyes again. "Arigatou, Kakashi-san. But… I think I'll be fine now, thanks for lending me your shoulder. You're really helpful." She let go of him.

Kakashi thought. _I wonder why Oyo can't see this in me. _And then, an image of a red-faced Oyo with sunglasses waving a bent soup ladle madly crammed into his mind:

_**Oyaji is an ugly, stupid pervert. Not to mention he is a MORON. He should keel over and die someday! **_

There was an awkward silence. As Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts, Hana was still in deep contemplation

_It's not working… What… do I do now?_

Outside, Sakura was swooning like mad, Sasuke behind her frowning with a slight blush on his face. "Yes! Yes! I've won!" She said happily, turning back round, only to slap bang into Sasuke's chest, forgetting that he was still there. She quickly stepped back, flushing at her sudden outburst. "A-Ano… gomen, Sasuke-kun."

He rolled his eyes and looked away, then back.

A couple of cherry blossom petals fell down from the tree beside them in Hana's sweet smelling garden, and a single petal fluttered down gently, and landed on Sakura's nose (unbeknownst to her). Sasuke leaned closer to her and Sakura paled.

_W-What's he doing? Is he… is he going to kiss me….?_

Sasuke didn't stop leaning into her, and Sakura, now turned a bright cherry red, before closing her eyes shut, and she puckered her lips slightly for the anticipated kiss. Instead, Sasuke lifted a hand up, and slowly, he delicately caught it between his two fingers, and lifted it off her nose, with a small smirk.

"Imagine that. Sakura blossoms - This woman grows almost every shrub on the planet." He said, flicking it at her delicately. He watched it float back down gently on the ground in the light breeze.

Sakura opened her eyes and quickly shrank from him, obviously embarrassed. "Eh… well, Hana-chan _does_ work in a flower shop…." She replied nervously. Then she looked to the side. _That was too close! I almost… really kissed him there… Darn it, I didn't utilise that time enough!_

**Back to the Ramen Stand….**

"Ne, Hinata-chan, I didn't know you liked ramen too."

"I-I have it occasionally… a-ano, Naruto-kun…. Where are the rest of your team?" The dark-haired girl asked shyly as she watched Naruto pig out on his bowl, a red blush appearing on her face as she looked back at hers.

"They're away stalking Kakashi-sensei, what about your team?"

Oyo noticed this extreme shyness displayed from this cute girl (yet she had creepy eyes) and smiled inwardly. Seems like someone's in love. Unfortunately, this blonde baka was too in love with ramen to notice. Oyo scratched her chin as she watched them from the kitchen. Ayame was at the counter, this time. From the coat rack in the back room, Oyo ransacked around her trench coat and found something smooth in the inside pocket…

_Aha, I've still got it! Now this would be interesting…_

Naruto eventually left to go to the loo, and instantly, Oyo swarmed up to the shy girl on the stool beside her, who was waiting for him to return. "Ohayou, Hinata-chan."

"O-Ohayou, Oyo-chan…"

"Ne." Oyo began, with a delightful leer. "You… like Naruto-kun a lot, don't you?"

Hinata's mouth opened, and then closed again. "A-A-Ano………"

"I'll just take that as a 'yes'. How about I offer you this…. Love Potion?" Oyo took out a small red bottle, with a sculpted heart on it and held it up high in her hands.

The girl's face flushed bright red as she eyed it. "L-Love Potion?"

"Hai… wanna give it a try?" She egged her on. "I got it off this really nice gypsy during my travels. She's helped thousands of people in love situations, and her potions have always worked. Simple use too, all you have to do is put it into the person's food; wait until he or she eats it, then that person will instantly fall in love with you and be with you for ever."

Hinata stared at it intently, then, she bit her lip.

After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke, "I-Iie, Oyo-chan. Arigatou… for the offer, but no, I think… I think I'd prefer it if Naruto… liked me... out of free will… I mean… I-I-I do like Naruto (her face grew even redder) but… I can't do that to him…"

Oyo-chan blinked, then, she smiled softly. "Hinata-chan… you have such a kind heart. That… is true love." And then she ruined the moment. "Now, if only that hopeless ramen-eating dope could ever think that way, I'll be ever so proud of him – " She fake-sobbed.

Then –

"Naruto-kun?" Oyo exclaimed in shock, immediately hiding the bottle into her pocket. "Wha-What are you doing here?"

Behind Hinata, was Naruto, staring at her with his mouth half-open.

He had heard their conversation – everything (even the 'ramen-eating dope' part).

Hinata froze, and slowly, swivelled in the barstool to look at the blonde boy. Naruto just stared back at her. And Hinata's face paled even more. It was a split second staring match. Blindly; she leapt off the stool and ran away.

Oyo waved her wooden spoon recklessly. "Hinata-chan! Wait! You haven't paid yet, I – oh, what the heck, Naruto – go after her!"

"Wha - ? Oyo-chan!" He protested angrily at her.

"Go!" She urged him.

Kakashi walked back up to the ramen stand after saying goodbye to Hana who seemed rather upset with the fact that he had to leave, and he saw Naruto run off to the left down the street, and then looked at Oyo, who was shaking the wooden spoon up and down anxiously in her grasp. He wondered what was going on, and took an empty seat, pressing the bell.

"Oh, what do you want now?" She said icily at him as she emerged from the kitchen only to see him sitting there smiling at her. "I'm not serving you anymore, you're a **moron**."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Kakashi inwardly sighed. His image of her was far too true.

" - Because you're the one who arrested me and had me locked up in jail." She retorted back.

"That's your fault for selling those things." He said, gesturing at her.

"Hey, it's how I made a living, but now I've changed my ways!" Oyo said arrogantly. "I like working at this stand. What I don't like, is having to see your ugly face in front of mine every single day!"

"You haven't even seen my face, just my mask, which is covering my face. And how do you even know if I'm 'ugly'?" He said teasingly, his fingers moved up to the cloth covering his lower half of his face. Why does Oyo make such silly assumptions about him anyway?

Oyo felt extremely browbeaten. She did want to see what was behind that mask, and she wondered if he was ugly or not. She couldn't wait to tell everyone how ugly he was if he did uncover himself – but what if she was wrong? What if Kakashi really was good-looking – but why would he cover up his face in the first place? If he 'adored' women so much, wouldn't he be basking in his handsomeness and kick Gai out of his spotlight and haul all of the women in Konoha's attention to him? She frowned to herself upon thinking this. "Whatever! It's still _you_, Hatake-san." She said with her hands on her hips.

"But have you seen the _real_ me?"

Her eye twitched behind the sunglasses. "Well, have _you_ seen the _real_ me?" She asked him back, prodding her finger at his chest irritably from behind the counter.

He flicked her hand away as if she was an annoying fly zooming circles around his head. "I'm hoping to – but not with those sunglasses on. Take them _off_." He replied, now pointing to her shades.

"And why should I?" She retorted, tilting them further up over her eyes. "You take off your silly mask first. I want to see just how unbearably putrid and hideous you really are that I want get waking, living nightmares of you at night that I can't sleep - "

"Oyo-chan! Stop chatting up our customers and shake a leg on it!" The old man shouted (extra loud too) from the kitchen.

Her face burned. "I am **NOT** chatting him up! Anyway, I've said better pick up lines before than those!" She fumed. Then she paused. _D'oh, why'd I just say that?_

The whole shop seemed to be giggling at her when she said that – these two women in the corner were whispering at her and Kakashi and pointing. One of her apron straps fell off her shoulder as she slumped back against the wall. _Oh god… This can't be happening (!). _Kakashi was grinning at her. She frowned, before wiping her hands on her apron.

"When will this day end?" She grimaced.

**Meanwhile…**

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto ran after her, and he finally caught up with her. She had stopped just beside a hat store, also out of breath. As Naruto neared her, she hid behind a stand, shaking, looking at the ground.

"N-Naruto-kun…"

"You… haven't paid… yet… Hinata… chan…"

She flushed. "Oh… G-Gomen…"

"Hinata-chan… what you said… "

Hinata looked away quickly. "Y-You don't have to like me back, Naruto-kun, I-I understand if you don't… "

"Hinata… I never said that – " Naruto began. He stopped. He couldn't believe he was saying this. What about Sakura? What about all those other feelings he had for the pink haired girl? He shook his head. He just needed to apologise to Hinata – he… he couldn't possibly like her back… not now... it needed some time. "I-I'm sorry…. I'm really, really sorry…"

The white eyed girl looked down at the ground and bit her trembling lip. "Naruto-kun…"

"I'm sorry, Hinata… I really am."

**The Ichiraku Stand…**

_Grrrr. Why. Won't. He. Leave? _

Out from the corner of her eye, Oyo could just see Kakashi staring at her from a cross the room, even though the _Icha Icha Paradise_ book was set in front of him, his eye, was always glued onto her. She shivered.

Kakashi went a bit pink at some point when he turned over the page, and he tittered to himself. She blinked. Perhaps he wasn't looking at her at all?

"Don't you have anything interesting to do?" She asked him as she went passed him to go into the kitchen with an order – that was another reason why she shivered, she was feeling very, very uncomfortable. The spot he chose to sit in – gave him a view of the kitchen, so she couldn't hide there either – although Ayame was always standing there, secretly looking hopeful at him. Oyo shook her head at her, and Ayame shrugged.

"Is he looking at me?" Ayame asked Oyo as she passed her.

Oyo looked back outside and Kakashi glanced at her.

"That's none of your business, Oyo-san." He replied once she had stuck her head back out. She sighed. He had been sitting there ever since Naruto chased a runaway Hinata.

Oyo looked back at Ayame. "Oh, he's looking alright." _Yeah, at me. _

Ayame giggled and went back to work.

Oyo sighed. Where were Naruto and Hinata anyway?

"Oyo-chan!"

Right on cue. She turned round happily. "Naruto!" Oyo exclaimed.

"I've got Hinata-chan!"

Oyo smiled. Thank god they were okay. "You two… " She started, clunking them each on the heads with her spoon gently. "You two scared me."

Naruto grinned at her. Hinata smiled faintly.

Kakashi looked at her and closed his book. "What'd I miss?"

_THUNK!_

She had used a bent soup ladle to hit Kakashi. "That's none of _your_ business, Hatake-san."

"Oyo-chan! Don't try and kill our customers!" The old man shouted at her. "You'll pay for that soup ladle!"

She sweat dropped, re-shaped the soup ladle back to its original form and replaced it back onto the stand. "Hai…."

Naruto laughed and Hinata giggled lightly.

**Later…**

"So, what did you two do whilst I was gone?"

Sakura went extremely pink and Sasuke looked away. Naruto frowned at them. What exactly had went on between the two of them? He deliberately squeezed in between them on the park bench. "Ne, Sasuke-moron. We've still not met your nominee yet."

"Just wait." He replied. "She'll meet up with us soon."

"What's her name anyway?"

"Matsumoto Leiko."

Naruto moped again. "Ne, I'd say, don't even bother showing her up to us, I think I already know who the winner is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked, raising a brow.

"It's obvious Kaka-sensei likes _Oyo-chan_ the best."

"Feh, yeah right. All they do when they see each other is argue." Sasuke replied with a snicker.

"Yeah, and anyway," Sakura agreed. "Besides, Sasuke-kun and I followed Kakashi-sensei with Hana-chan today. They hugged."

"NE?" Naruto spat, eyes popping. _How did this happen?_

"It's true." Sakura added. "Kaka-sensei likes Hana-chan the most because she's nice, pretty and a lot smarter than your Ramen-making nominee."

"Hey, don't say that, Sakura-chan! Oyo-chan is nice and she's real pretty."

"Then why does she wear sunglasses?" Sakura pressed purposely.

"What's that got to do with it?" Naruto replied tenaciously. _Okay, Oyo-chan isn't really smart, but at least she's creative. Right, that's it – I need to get Oyo-chan closer to Kakashi-sensei, whether she likes it or not! _

**Afternoon…. **

"Ohayou, Kakashi-kun!"

"Leiko-chan?" He had opened his door – to see the pretty woman before him, dressed in the same plain white top and shorts. She had a forehead protector over her thick, black hair. "I didn't know you were a – "

"Not anymore." She said, bustling in as he opened the door for her, carrying a bag of groceries. "I dropped out after the chuunin exams. Fighting just isn't my thing, though I do like to carry my shuriken around." She pointed to the extra large shuriken stuck onto her back on a buckled strap. If Kakashi wasn't careful, he could get a hard jab in the ribs if she came too close for contact.

She continued as she took off her shoes and she stayed at the landing. "I bought some ingredients for cooking – you don't mind, do you? My cooker broke down this morning… the handyman's going to look at it in the evening and I haven't had lunch."

"Why don't we go out to eat – er… my place isn't too… er – "

"Nonsense – I – "

Kakashi opened his living room door – just slightly, that only a small fifth could be seen– and Leiko paled at the sight of it.

"Uh…."

"Leiko….?"

She swallowed and broke out of her trance. "Ummm… it sure is nice…" Yet, she looked doubtful at it (and I'll tell you why later).

"Why don't you come into the dining room?" He said with a small sweatdrop, closing the living room door.

"Sure…."

He sat her down on a chair and she meekly looked around the room curiously. "Don't be shy." He joked "You can treat this like your home."

She blinked. "Ah…. Thanks."

He took her grocery bags and entered the kitchen. Wait – he forgot to ask if she wanted a drink – Kakashi went back into the dining room to see a sight.

Leiko was clipping her toenails on his dining table.

**In the Evening…. Outside Kakashi's apartment…**

"Ooh! Kakashi-kun!"

"Ahh… Leiko-chan…"

Such ominous sounds came from Kakashi's home. Naruto glowered. _What the hell are they doing?_

The door opened, and Naruto squeezed up against the wall, trying not to be seen.

"Thanks for teaching me how to make the Provencal salad." Kakashi said, rubbing his head as he held a bowl in his other. "I guess I could improve on the sauce though."

"No bother, Kakashi-kun! I also made you something special today too!" Leiko shoved a flask into Kakashi's arms as he put down the bowl; Naruto stared at the tall, ultra beautiful woman who stepped outside.

"Uh… arigatou, Leiko-chan. What is it this time?" He looked behind him, at the living room through the ajar door, where thousands of plastic containers containing all sorts of gourmet food all made by Leiko on previous visits were lying on the table, uneaten (little did Leiko know though because she didn't get to see the rest of his living room).

_Leiko? This is Sasuke's nominee? No fair! He didn't even tell us that she already knew Kaka-sensei!_

"Bisque de Crivettes, aka, Prawn Bisque! Hope you enjoy it!"

"Uh… I will."

"Oh yeah, you'd better get a torch ready, the approaching thunderstorm might cut off power." Then she leaned up, and kissed him on the temple, before leaping back up the stairs, giggling.

Kakashi shut the door.

_So that's where he got the kissy mark from,_ Naruto thought as he hid behind the plant pot.

Someone yawned from beside him. "Eh, Naruto-kun, what are we doing at your sensei's home?" Oyo asked, rubbing her eyes wearily. "Look at how late it is. I really need to go home."

"Shhh! Oyo-chan, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

He sighed. "To infiltrate Kakashi-sensei's home?"

"Yes, I am. Sheesh, I don't know why you're so afraid of going into his home just to get some stuff you left behind from the previous mission." She moaned at him.

Naruto looked shadily to the side. That was such a huge lie, yet Oyo bought it. She trusted him a bit too much – well, Naruto put on his most puppy-dog look on her so she agreed, although inside, she was **really** reluctant. "How long will this take by the way? I have to go back home – there's been news of a thunderstorm coming near in several minutes time and - "

"It'll be quick!" He shoved a pillow into her hand, and pushed her out to Kakashi's door.

"Why do I need this?" She tossed the pillow back at Naruto, who threw it back to her.

"You'll need it." He hissed. He flung it back.

"But I'm not staying overnight, baka." She hurled it back to him.

Naruto paled, and then threw the pillow back at her. "Just keep it!"

Sighing, Oyo clutched the pillow, glancing back to Naruto, who showed her thumbs up, and then she knocked on the door.

Kakashi opened the door again, this time, shocked to see Oyo on his doorstep – with a pillow.

"Ohayou." She said dolefully, hiding the pillow behind her. She stared at the lipstick mark on his unexposed skin and her eye twitched.

Kakashi quickly wiped it off him. "O-Ohayou - What are you doing here?"

"Naruto said he left some stuff at your place when – " She turned back to the plant pot. Naruto was gone. Her eyes widened. "Eee?"

Kakashi watched her twiddle back to the plant pot. "Naruto? Naruto?" She whispered as she pulled the leaves back and inspected through the small branches.

"Why are you talking to a plant?" He asked, half amused, half confused (hey, that rhymed!).

"Naruto was here before, I swear!" She said grimly, pointing at it accusingly.

Kakashi looked at her in a way with his arms crossed. She didn't like it. "Stop looking at me like that, you lecherous moron! I'm not crazy!" She protested, shaking her tiny fists at him portentously.

"Sure, you aren't."

"What's that supposed to mean? Oh, whatever! I'm going, goodnight!"

**BOOM!**

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Kakashi winced. "It's just thunder." He told her.

She peeped one eye open as she hid her head under her arms. "I-I-I don't like it." Then she straightened, and walked stiffly to the exit. There was a flash as she opened the door, letting the rain pour all over her, the winds blowing her hair back, and then the thunder crashed. Immediately, Kakashi felt a cold breeze whip past him as the door leading outside closed. He looked inside his apartment. Oyo was there on his sofa, knees hugged to her chest, teeth clattering.

"Oyo-chan?" He questioned. "Are you okay?"

She was somehow glad she had the pillow Naruto gave her – now she huddling to it like a baby clutching it's 'blanky'. "Wah." She 'sobbed'. "How do I go home now? It's dark and scary outside, and thunder – I hate thunder…"

"You can stay here if you like – until the storm dies down." He shut the door and walked up to her.

"NANI!" She shrieked and she leapt up from the sofa, still clutching the pillow. "Stay here with you! I'd rather go outside and – "

**BOOM!**

"AARRGGHH! Alright, alright, I'll stay!"

He grinned. This would be an interesting night.

"Wipe that sick smirk off your face, you sleaze ball!" She screamed at him.

"Shh." He covered her loud mouth with his hand. "I don't want her to come back downstairs to see what's going on here."

"Her? Who's 'her'?" Oyo quickly rehabilitated. "And what do mean 'to see what's going on here'? Nothing is going to go 'on'."

"Whatever, 'her' is my new neighbour." He replied - he couldn't believe he was saying this about Leiko. "She's really been bugging me."

Oyo looked at the floor, and then blinked confusedly at him as he wandered away.

"Do you want a drink?" He said from the kitchen doorway.

She shook her head and she looked around. When it wasn't dark, Kakashi's house looked… even messier than it had been the last time she came. The sofa she was sitting on had patches and bits of fluff poking out from split ends. The table opposite her was overflowing with tubs containing food, some even spoilt – she hadn't seen most of these kinds of food before in her life. The rug seemed to have some silver strands of hair on it, and even some type of fur (as she believed). Old socks littered the floorboards, and the walls were decorated with paintings that looked… yellow. Oyo shivered in her surroundings. Such an…. Untidy and unkempt man... She was horrified. The house was filthy! She trembled as Kakashi came back out with a hot drink in his hands. Outside, the rain was harsh and the thunder could still be heard. As Kakashi sat beside her on the sofa, she hid under her pillow and squealed.

He was staring at her from the corner of his eye with a small sweat drop. "You can't be that afraid, can you?"

She attacked him with the pillow ferociously – making the hot drink spill over his hands. He flinched and quickly put the cup on the table, pushing away some containers. He grabbed a paper towel and wiped his red hand. "Watch it!"

"Well, you _watch _what you say!" She death-glared at him, it was positive that there was a ray of crackling electricity emitting from their eyes (or in Kakashi's case, 'eye') between them two.

There was a silence.

"Sorry."

"It's…. okay." Oyo said tiredly. "I'm just… really tired. I need my sleep. Or I'll get even cranky." She said, brushing a hand over her fringe. "I just don't like thunder… at all. So, don't say anything – just don't."

There was another silence.

"Can I get a glass of milk?" She asked. Oyo stopped. – That sounded a bit rude. "Uh… Do you _have_ milk in your fridge?" Gah, that was even worse!

Kakashi sighed and got up from the sofa, entering the kitchen. "Pasteurised or Semi-skinned?"

"Pasteurised, please."

He handed it to her and sat back down on the sofa, watching her sip the glass of milk slowly. Somehow, she reminded him of a little child – maybe he should ask if she anted cookies, too? He got back up, and entered his room, before opening his wardrobe, letting piles of unfolded clothes fall onto the floor – he fished out a thick blanket, and returned back to the living room. She had finished her milk, stood up and was now trying to find a place amongst the dirty containers and other junk to put the cup on.

Kakashi scooped it out of her hands and she looked up, surprised.

_He-He's really… fast. And silent. _

She didn't like that in him either. It made him more menacing and dangerous than she had thought.

"Sit down."

"Whu - ?"

He seated her back on the couch (or more like he pushed her back down), and draped the blanket over her. Oyo blinked in astonishment. "Uh… thanks…?" She propped the pillow behind her head and sat up. Minus the weird smell in Kakashi's house, it did seem kind of comfy here… "How long is the storm gonna go for?" She asked as he returned back into his room.

He grinned at her as he popped his head out from the doorway. "Maybe for the whole night…"

She choked. "Seriously?"

"We get used to having thunder storms for that long in Konoha – " He replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "And also – "

**BZZT!**

There was a popping sound, and the lights snapped off.

" – Power cuts." Kakashi finished off. He took out a torch from under his table and flicked it on. Walking back to her on the sofa – he realised how dilate her pupils had turned. "Okay, you stay here while I find a lamp."

She did so. But once Kakashi left the living room, Oyo was frightened – every small shadow seemed to grow in the darkness and she hid under the covers, wishing that Kakashi would come quickly. She thought.

Inner Oyo 1: Grab a hold of yourself! You'renineteen years old - almost twenty!

Inner Oyo 2: When's Kakashi coming back?

Inner Oyo 3: Since when did we become so dependant on him?

Inner Oyo 2: ….. Should we trust him?

Inner Oyo 1: Well, we have to for the time being.

Inner Oyo 2: It's too dark.

Inner Oyo 3: It's probably the sunglasses – why do we still have them on?

Oyo took off her sunglasses and tucked them into her pocket of her apron. It was still dark. He re-emerged from some room in the house with the lamp. "Feel better?" He set it in front of her on the floor.

She nodded briefly as Kakashi placed a futon down on the floor just at the foot of the sofa beside her. "What are you doing?"

"This happens to be my only lamp, so I'm placing my futon near it."

"…………….." Oyo didn't say anything, but she bit her lip with a frown.

"You can trust me." He said, looking at her. _Oyo?_

Her eyes were the most brilliant emerald he had ever seen. He swallowed, closed his eye and re-opened it. Yup, she was still sunglasses-less. She stared back at him strangely with those green eyes that never left his. For some reason, he believed, that Oyo looked… a lot less threateningly than she did with the shades. She looked endearing…

"I don't trust you for saying that I can trust you." She said with half lidded eyes.

Kakashi grimaced. "You're not making this any easier for the both of us."

"Well that makes the two of us." She closed one eye, the open eye eyeing him down. "So what do we do now?"

He started. "We have to wait for the power to be re-gathered."

"How long does that take, Hatake-san?"

"How should I know?"

She frowned.

"Get some sleep. It's almost eleven."

**Some time later….**

It was eerily silent in the apartment, considering how every passing minute Oyo and Kakashi were in interaction with one another was spent on ridiculously and unreasonably squabbling over some random and unimportant matter. Oyo didn't want to sleep. Maybe it was because of the fact that Kakashi was just centimetres away from her, on the ground, and feeling even more uncomfortable, was because she had her dirty outdoor clothes on. She was afraid of going to sleep -

_What if he does something to me while I am in the weak state of unconsciousness? _

Still, her eyes drooped, even though she constantly tried to spring back up awake. The more she did so, the sleepier she became.

_Bah, humbug. _

She couldn't take that risk. Not when she was in a house of a strong nin – after all, she, herself, was a weakling, she couldn't fight. Although she previously had sold fake scrolls based on the real thing, she had bothered to look at them because she wasn't interested in these things.

"Oyo-san?"

She looked to the side. "Hai?" She replied quietly. She guessed he wasn't asleep either.

"Why do you… act so childish all the time? How old are you exactly?"

If Oyo's brain wasn't about to shut down, she would've retorted back furiously. "I'm… 19 years old…" She moaned sleepily. "How old are you?"

He was silent.

"Lemme guess….. 40?" She began fuzzily.

"…No."

"Um…. 50?"

"…No."

"Er… 60…?"

"No!"

"Then what age are you?"

"I'm 26."

"Oh… my… god!"

"Shut up."

"You… look **waaaaaaay** too old… to be 26..." She drawled.

He silently glared at her through the darkness. "You never answered _my _question." He said, changing the subject.

"What was the question?"

"Why you don't act your age."

"Okay, uh... I'll tell you a story…. Once upon a time… there was a little girl who lived in the Oto no Kuni (Land of Sound) along with her mother. One day, her mother fell ill, and died. Her last words being: "That's my little girl, my daughter – ack!" Sheinhaled sharplyand died and the young girl had to go to an orphanage – always acting like a child as she grew up just to get attention she lost during her childhood…. "

"Oh," Kakashi replied sullenly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Oyo laughed. "You actually believe me? I was just lying, you idiot. My mother's not dead. And I don't come from the Sound country…I'm from the Amegakure no Sato (Hidden Rain village – A/N: Just some random village I picked out by the way)."

She looked to the other side. "But… I like acting like a baby." She added. "It's fun – watch – I want a cookie!" (A rimshot can be heard)

He sweatdropped. "Ah…Oyo-san. I don't know what I'll do with you."

"Ee? What are you going to do with me!" She said sleepily. "I'm warning you, if you come any closer to me – I'll…. " She began to snore, then – "Ah? What just happened? I – oh… crap, I just fell asleep – I – hey, Hatake-san, tell me a story."

"What? You aren't a baby anymore – no matter how much you act like one."

"Hatake-san, please. Onegai with a cherry on top?" She said sarcastically. She just felt like bugging him at this time.

"Whatever. Oi, have you heard the one about the ugly duckling?"

"Wait, let me think." She pretended to think, and then she added lamely towards him: "Yeah, I have. Tell me something else." She whined boringly.

"Okay, okay. Uh…. Snow White?"

"Can't you think of something else better than that?"

"Goldilocks and the 3 Bears?"

"Yawn!"

"The Gingerbread Man?"

She blew a raspberry. "Ah stop. You're a lousy _story-thinker_. I'm going to sleep." Then she shuffled under her blanket, and took off her apron, then the rest of her clothes until she was left in her undergarments.

"I've got one." He said suddenly.

"Don't wanna listen to it anymore." She replied stoically.

"Well, I'll just tell myself then."

"You go do that."

Kakashi began his story - of course, it was about his own past. He didn't mention any names, no Obito, no Rin. "Once upon a time… "

**A few minutes later...**

"Sheesh, that's such…. a long story... I don't understand it…"

"Teamwork was vital – and so, he left to find his team mates, but he was too late – the team mate sacrificed himself and - "

"Are you done yet?"

He ignored that remark. " – he died. Then the boy saved the girl, but his team mate was already dead – "

"What happened… to the boy who was still alive then…?" She said - her voice scarcely above a whisper. "How... is he doing…?"

"I guess he's okay."

"Oh... good… a happy ending… I like that…" then she began snoring, fast asleep for real this time

And she didn't wake up.

Kakashi looked at her – or tried to, from ground level – all he could see was her arm which had somehow woven its way out of from under the blanket and was now dangling above the floor, just above his nose. He rolled to the side and got up, sighing.

"Oyo-san?"

He received no reply. She was fast asleep; he kneeled in front of her and just… stared. He knew she had taken off her sunglasses before. She looked better without them, that's all he thought. A few strands of long, blue hair fell over her closed eyes, and he raised an arm up to brush them away – then stopped. Aah… what was he doing? Oyo-san – that annoying little girl with a shrill high voice working as a ramen assistant – in his house – and he was about to touch her (!). Oyo would sure kill him if she somehow woke up at some point when he was 'admiring' her during her sleep, even though sometimes, they did get on okay… until Kakashi would anger her. Hey, it wasn't his fault; it was her fault for being so full of beans and taking things so seriously. She seemed to have no humour in her life, well; she did have some - only dry humour – she laughed at such stupid and irrelevant things.

Oyo was sure a rash and 'masculine' girl (another rimshot can be heard).

Yet…

Oyo was cute.

In a way.

In a really, really, reallyirritating way.

He liked how she would barge around in the stand, glare at him, scream at him, nag, talk, bending soup ladles in half – everything, about her… was so… mysterious. How weird. Her unusually repellent personality (that would make men run away from her) was actually… attracting him to her… right? Kakashi thought again. _Ack, what am I doing? What am I thinking?_ He quickly lay back down on his futon and closed his eye, trying to get to sleep until –

"Yeah… I like… hot cross buns with…. mustard…." There was a funny noise – Oyo had gotten up from her spot on the sofa.

Kakashi opened his eye again. Damn, what was happening now?

"Oyo-chan?"

The sofa was empty. He sat back up again and inspected his surroundings, seeing the trace of a familiar figure walking from the living room's open door to the corridor. "Oyo-chan?" He called again. He immediately stood up and ran after her.

_Where is that stupid girl?_

"Must… make ramen for… demanding customers… here you go… sir… one… bowl of iron nails and egg mustard… for you… hope you leave a tip…. Enjoy meal… ah…. Hope… you choke…"

He stared at her.

She had walked into the kitchen and was pouring the water flask of ice cold water over his laundry basket (filled with dry clothes!) that sat just beside the counter, and she had picked up a fruit basket and was dumping the fresh fruits into the bin.

"Into the pan… need more… salt – " She picked up a bottle of soy sauce and spilled the entire contents onto the floor. "Too much salt… need… chicken block powder – " She snatched a tomato from the vegetable stand. "Need to mush it first…"

**SPLAT!**

She had used a mug from the cup rack to squash the tomato on the counter – the juice splatting all over her hands. "Ah… Now… the chopsticks…. "

This time she grabbed a knife.

"Oyo-chan, stop!"

"Ayame-chan… people… need… food. Must… provide it… to them… Oyaji… rice vermicelli… buckwheat…. Made out of… dead cockroaches…" She put the knife into one of the bowls on the counter top and dumped sweet and sour sauce into it. "Finishing touch…. Sesame oil… One bowl of… chicken ramen… coming right up, ma'am."

He grabbed her back – she dropped the bowl - and dragged her back into the living room, slamming the door shut behind him. He made sure she was tucked tightly in the sofa with the blanket 'imprisoning' her. He wiped her hands clean of tomato juice and scrubbed at her face. Oyo was complaining and whining again in her sleep, but then after a few seconds of holding her down – she stopped, and began to snore again. Kakashi sighed, and then lay back on his futon.

"Sheesh… didn't know she sleepwalked and sleeptalked…"

Some time later… he re-awoke when he felt a weight on top of his chest. He opened his eye, and sighed; this wasn't too surprising – he glanced down at the girl lying on top of him, snoring – not too gently either. Seeing how she sleepwalked before, seeing her now sleeping on top of his blanket wasn't surprising. She snuggled her face deeper into his neck in a bid to get warmer – of course, she was only in a vest and shorts. He really wanted to shove her off… But still – he grinned imprudently under his mask, and hesitantly tried to get up without having her being lifted too much from the usual ground level so she wouldn't wake up, and carefully, he grabbed hold of the blanket that was falling off the sofa, and pulled it over her body.

"I hate… bananas…." She muttered. "Yellow… not me colour… like… blue…"

Just what kind of dreams did she get?

Oyo snorted and smacked her lips, then continued to snore like a pig.

"Urgh… " He mumbled. "This'll be a long night."

**The next morning….**

Oyo woke up feeling unusually warm. She opened her eyes groggily, and realised that she had two blankets over her. Maybe that was why she felt so choked up and squashed. She was lying on Kakashi's futon – when did she move from the sofa? Not caring about that matter, Oyo got up using her weak arms and looked up, the blankets being too heavy for her to push with her minute strength at the moment. When she woke up, she was always tired. It was morning already, the sun shone through Kakashi's blinds and she could see yesterday's rain clearing up. Yet, it wasn't as quiet inside as it looked outside. She could also hear something sizzling in the kitchen.

"Kakashi?" She said tiredly.

The door to the living room opened. He moved into the living room and looked at her as she got up, still sitting on the futon with the blankets over her head. "You're awake."

She nodded.

"I'm making breakfast. I'll call you when it's done. You should get some more rest." He replied, wrapping the blankets around her securely.

She gazed at him, eyes half open. "What time is it…?"

"Eight."

"Oh…" She delved back under the covers. "Wake me up in five minutes time…"

He nodded and went back into the kitchen.

At ground level, Oyo could see a familiar orange book under the sofa as she snuggled into Kakashi's pillow. _Urgh… it smells too much like him… _Reaching out, she grabbed it and looked at the cover, squinting at the drawings of the boy and the girl who seemed to be flirting with one another.

_Icha Icha Paradise_.

Surely the title wouldn't be as bad as the contents? When she acknowledged the fact that Kakashi was in the kitchen and singing to notice that she had taken his book, she flipped it open. _He seems to like it a lot, and I'm over 18… I could handle it._ She gasped once she looked at one random page and began reading down one paragraph.

_Oh mi god oh mi god oh mi god!_

Quickly, she shut it and shoved it back under the sofa. That disgusting, perverted man! Eeeeurckkk! After several minutes of relieving from the shock, she sniffled noisily as something trickled over her mouth and down her chin.

_Uh oh…. _

Ack! Oyo was getting a nosebleed! She scrabbled up instantly, clamping her hands over her nose, and she dashed out of the living room – having found the bathroom as she scurried past the kitchen. Kakashi turned round.

"Oyo-chan?"

She was in such a hurry flailing over herself in front of his bathroom mirror, that she couldn't roll the tissue she had ripped from the roll (carelessly) properly. She cursed herself mentally. She couldn't believe she had just gotten a nosebleed from that little part of the book! That made her feel even more disgusted with Kakashi. He is twisted! Wacked, even! Then, her nose felt itchy, and she let it out.

"Atchoo!"

The blood splattered all over the sink and over the mirror. She shrieked even more.

"Oyo-chan, what's wrong?" Kakashi said as he peeked in. His eye widened at the sight of his mirror, and the basin. "OYO-CHAN!(?)"

She turned round, hand over her nose. "… Gomen! I'll wash that off later." She couldn't help but cringe.

He rushed to her side immediately, and sat her down on the pan. "Look up."

She did so. He grabbed the tissue off her and chucked it into the bin – it would be no use. So he ripped a new one from the roll and handed it to her. She jammed it up her bleeding nostril and sniffled unhappily. He wetted another tissue and scrubbed at her chin, which had dried blood over it. She squealed and shoved him away gently. Then he ran his hand under cold water, and patted it onto her forehead. She blinked and quickly squirmed away from him.

_Don't forget, he's a pervert! Eurrgh stop touching me already! Go away! _

"That's a traditional method to stop nosebleeds. Sit there and don't move. And don't pick your nose either." He told her, finger wagging in front of her face as if she was a 5 year old. She growled.

"I didn't pick my nose." She said to him angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then why have you got a nosebleed?"

Oyo looked down. "I er… I uh… looked at your um… book."

He let out a roar of laughter.

"SHUT UP! It's not funny! Go back and make breakfast!" She heaved him out from the bathroom, and stomped to the living room, trying to ignore him. He returned to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, the bleeding stopped and she sighed. "That's the last time I'll look at those book (even though that was my first)." Then she rolled on her back on the futon and gaped at the ceiling.

The doorbell rang.

"Kakashi?" She called.

No reply. Still singing.

"Kakashi, get the door!"

Still no response. Sighing, Oyo got up with a blanket wrapped around her, and walked to the front door, smoothing down her messy hair. The keys were in place – she twisted it correctly, and the door unlocked. Oyo opened it.

"Good morning Kakashi-kun! Look what I made – oh…"

Oyo stared at the tall, pretty woman carrying a large flask in her hand before her. She stared back at Oyo. Oyo eyed her down for a few seconds. Who was this woman? She was incredibly attractive compared to Oyo, and had a much more developed chest and thinner legs than her, not to mention, those ruby eyes and thick locks of silky hair…. Oyo swallowed. This woman sure was beautiful….

"W-Who are you?" The woman asked, dropping her cheerful manner. She was now staring at Oyo very suspiciously.

Oyo tried to cover herself, realising that she was covered by a blanket, underneath she was still in her undergarments. "Uh…."

"Oyo-chan, who's at the – oh, good morning, Leiko-chan." Kakashi emerged from the kitchen carrying a pan and walked up to the doorway behind Oyo, bending down to her level. "I didn't hear the doorbell ring." He whispered in her ear.

"I shouted at you but you were too busy singing!" She hissed back at him.

Leiko realised how close Kakashi was standing behind this 'Oyo' girl – so close, that his chin was almost touching her shoulder. She looked at her with a sour look. This 'Oyo' looked manky and dishevelled. Her hair was messy and she looked dumb. She was small and average – not to mention… Oyo was dressed in her underwear as Leiko could tell – and so was Kakashi. Her face went a bit red.

"Kakashi-kun… what's the meaning of this?"

"What do you mean what's the meaning of this?" He repeated her question lazily. "Well, uh… Oyo spent the night at my house and - "

She cringed and turned to him. "Shut _up_!"

"Oyo-chan, don't lie now, just admit the truth." He said irreverently.

Oyo screamed, pushed past him and ran back into the living room; the words 'pervert' playing over and over again in her mind like a record player scratching on the wrong chord.

_Pervert (scratch)! Pervert (scratch)! Pervert (scratch)! _

Leiko's jaw dropped. "Ano… Care to join us for breakfast?" he asked, holding the pan up.

Leiko scoffed at him. "How dare you even ask me that question! And-And I thought – " She screamed as well. "Well, here, I made you this – goodbye!" Leiko scrabbled back up the stairs screaming in fury.

Kakashi shut the door once he saw her disappear from the landing. "Glad she's gone for the while." He went to check up on Oyo, who was hiding under the blanket. "She's gone now."

"You - Why did you have to say that!" She said, emerging out from the covers.

"I had to get her away." He replied as he set the pan on the dining table.

"Wha - ?" she followed him into the kitchen, which was connected to the dining room.

He opened the flask and looked inside, then sighed. "Another Prawn Bisque. Want some?"

"No." She spat unceremoniously. "I hate prawn."

"Okay." Kakashi dumped the entire contents into the bin at the counter.

"Hey – " Oyo began as she looked at the gunk spill over the bag. "Why'd you do that?"

He shrugged and closed the flask. "I don't like her dishes. They're not my taste. I like ramen."

For some reason, Oyo flushed as she sat down. "So… what's for breakfast?"

"Ramen." He simply replied.

She sighed. _Why do I even bother to ask?_

As Kakashi set her bowl in front of her, she sniffed it inauspiciously before taking the first bite. She rolled her eyes; it obviously wasn't as good as the ones she made at work. The fried fish ball looked poorly seasoned and - She eyed Kakashi opposite her when she realised that he was looking at her. He hadn't touched his bowl yet. Oyo set her chopsticks properly and took the first bite. He was still gazing at her as she ate in front of him. Oyo coughed, and he broke out of his trance before looking at his ramen.

"It's going to get cold." She reminded him. "Hurry up and eat." She prodded at her fish ball and stuffed it into her mouth, then looked back up. His bowl was empty. Her eyes widened and popped out of the sockets.

"I told you I was a fast eater." He replied placidly, placing a finger on his mask, which was already pulled back up over his face.

She swallowed, and quickly ate her own. _Did he really… eat it?_ From the corner of her eye, he seemed fine. No burnt mouth, no hiccups, no nothing. The bowl was empty, aside from some leftover soup and noodles stuck on the rims of the bowl. His chopsticks at the side had some noodles on it as well. Maybe he really did eat it….

After the breakfast of common ramen with sesame oil, she returned to the living room to gather her clothes; Kakashi followed her to retrieve the futon on the ground.

"Argh!" She grimaced. "This is that thunderstorm's fault! If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have to be stuck here, and that woman wouldn't have misunderstood and – " She noticed that Kakashi was staring at her intently from the armchair opposite. "What?" She snapped at him. _He's always looking at me… another reason why I really have to get far away from him._

"You're blaming Mother Nature?"

She sniffed. "…. Yes."

"You'd better watch your tongue. You don't know how it'll come back to you."

"Pfft. I don't care." But inside, Oyo did care. _Darn, I hope I didn't jinx myself._

He was still looking at her with his hand supporting his head.

"Am I so funny-looking to stare at?" She murmured, feeling very, very, very uncomfortable.

He shook his head. "You know… you look a lot cuter without your sunglasses."

Oyo's face turned beet red. _C-C-C-Cute? _She gawked at him and squeaked, "……… Really?"

"No."

The nearest heavy object between Oyo's arm length range was the lamp from yesterday, and she threw it at him. **WHAM!** It connected neatly and successfully with his face and Oyo snorted as she fell back on the sofa, doubling over with laughter.

_Poof!_

Kakashi turned into a piece of old cloth.

"Yo, Oyo." He said in a relaxed manner. "What did my clone say to you to make you laugh so much?"

She stopped laughing and looked behind her to see Kakashi in an apron, holding a sopping wet bowl with bubbles. "But you were – " She looked at the cloth opposite her. "A clone?" She groaned and held her head back, and then she got up. "I HATE YOU!"

Kakashi blinked in astonishment. "What? He said that to you?(!)"

"NO!" She screeched."**I **(She pointed to herself) _HATE_ YOU!" She pointed at him with two hands when she said 'you'.

She grabbed her clothes and made a run for the exit, Kakashi pulled off his rubber gloves and apron and let the bowl fall safely onto the sofa, before following her. "Hey, hey, what happened, Oyo-chan?"

Oyo turned round to him from the door, eyes seething with venom. "I hate you, Hatake Kakashi! I've suffered from your harassment for long enough! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" She twisted the doorknob and tried to jerk it open.

Nothing happened, and there was a short stillness amongst the apartment.

"Urgh… can you unlock the door for me?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Uh... I hope you enjoyed that. The last part will be coming next week! Ne, well, I guess it's kinda obvious who's going with Kakashi now, right?


	4. Conclusion

Last part of the story! Thanks for the reviews!

**Part 4**

**Conclusion**

**-**

**-**

He didn't open the door for her yet, and kept his keys firmly in his hand – noticing how she eyed them hungrily. "Oyo-chan, what did my clone do to you exactly?"

The blue haired girl clutched her clothes and hugged the pillow tightly to her as she stood adjacently before the door. She stared at the ground, her vision becoming blurry by the passing second. Damn him, she thought. No-one had ever made her cry this bad before. Now she really felt stupid. She gulped, wiped at her face anxiously like a cat with her arms and hands, and her lips trembled. "You think I'm ugly, right?"

"What?"

"You think I'm ugly, don't you?(!)" She screeched angrily. "Well... Well that makes the two of us!" Then she began to sob, and she flopped onto the ground, amongst the shoes and the dirty 'Home Sweet Home' mat, rubbing her eyes until they became sore. "I hope you're happy… You seem to enjoy humiliating me that I almost cry – well now… I am! I'm leaving this village! I've had a horrible time since I've been here! I'm going home!"

She thought back to her mother; who was still at the homeland, hoping that Oyo would straighten her own life out and get herself a decent man, still waiting for Oyo's return. In fact, Oyo had never had a boyfriend before. The only reason Oyo had left the village was to get the job at the local fish market, and because her mother was annoying her about men, but now Oyo was working at a ramen stand and now involved with a jounin. Hmm, Oyo seemed to have accomplished some, although the relationship between her and the jounin wasn't the best at the moment.

He blinked. "Matte! Oyo-chan!" He moved beside her hastily and grabbed her arm, motioning her to look at him yet she refused to and screamed into the pillow. "You're not ugly." He said reassuringly.

"Well you said I'm not cute either!" Her voice was muffled against the pillow. Okay, that sounded quite wrong. "Then… Then that means I'm ugly…" She added.

"Is that why you wear sunglasses?" He asked. "Because you think you're… ugly?"

_NO! I think they look cool on me… but... let's just go with that…! _"Yes." She sniffled.

Kakashi blinked and decided to make a grab at the sunglasses back on the table and snap them. "Oyo-chan, don't be like that and don't take things so seriously. I'm just teasing you because you can be so susceptible and fragile at some point and – "

Oops. Wrong choice of words.

"So you think I'm a wimp too!" She cried unhappily, delving her face deeper into the pillow that she was going to make all the stitches that joined the bloody thing together twang off.

"No!" He quickly covered it up. "I didn't mean it that way – "

"Then what way did you mean it!" She croaked loudly like a frog between hiccups.

"That feeling –" He scratched his head. He couldn't believe he was going to say this, "That you need someone to watch over you… I…. er…. "

"I am _not_ a baby! And I don't need a bodyguard either, bub!" She screamed in frustration.

"Oyo - Look at me."

"No."

"Oyo – "

"NO!"

"Oyo, please – "

"NOOO!"

"Still mad about the 'ugly' remark?"

"N – I mean, yes, I am!"

He sighed. "Fine, I'll take off my mask. You can see how 'ugly' I am. If it makes you feel better – "

Oyo stopped breathing and looked up from her pillow, a trickle of sweat falling down her cheek as she watched him slip two fingers under the rim of his mask, about to drag it down. She wiped her eyes. Kakashi – was he really going to take off his mask before her? Suddenly, she felt horrible. What if Kakashi wasn't ugly? What if he was devilishly delicious and extremely attractive under the mask? She swallowed – and what if he really wasn't? She had already pondered on this before, and now it was finally coming true! Oyo didn't want to know – it was probably better if he didn't unmask for her. She was beginning to get scared – Oyo's mind was reeling – why… why did she feel this way? It was so irritating!

"No - !"

As he pulled it down, she squeezed her eyes shut and looked away.

"Oyo? Look at me!" He interjected fiercely.

"NO!"

"Don't make me pry your eyes open!"

"You wouldn't dare!" She yelled back at him. Or would he? He might… she gulped, and added in: "Or I'll scream and get Gai here if you do!"

He sat back, still unmasked, staring at her wordlessly, "… Do you hate me that much…?"

Her clenched-shut eyes softened slightly, yet, she gritted her teeth and looked down. "….. No. But…Just… let me go. I-I have to go back to work." She muttered. She felt Kakashi stand up, then he sighed, and she heard the door click. Then, she heard something sliding.

"There. It's open."

Still unsure whether he was still unmasked, Oyo decided to feel her way out – her hand landed on the wall, then she shiftily walked towards the door and –

**SLAM!**

She crashed face-flat onto the wood, and as she bounded back, Kakashi caught her with his arms from behind her. "WHY YOU LYING, EVIL INCONSIDERATE JERK WITH NO MORAL STANCE!" (er… don't ask)

How dare he! He didn't even open the goddamn door all along! Grinning slightly, he dragged a screaming and kicking Oyo back down on the living room, sat down on the sofa, with her thrashing self still on his lap. He tried to calm her down, but what he done only made her shriek even more – he had held her tightly that she couldn't breathe properly.

"Oyo-chan." He said, trying to dodge her flying fists of fury. "You're not escaping me without settling things first. Calm down."

She was sweating, eyes still closed tightly, and she turned to some extent to him. "…Right now…?" She squeaked meekly.

"Yes." He said firmly.

She sighed, knowing that he would never let her go until they spoke to each other properly rather than argue. She swallowed. But what would she say? She didn't like their position – she could feel his breath on her ear – he was still unmasked – this made her heart soar up to MAXIMUM BEATING LEVEL and ULTRA BLOOD PUMPING PRESSURE. "Fine." Oyo said shakily. "I act obnoxious because I'm aware of the inevitable and I don't want to deny it."

"What's that?"

"The fact that I'm unappealing – especially towards the… opposite sex." She moaned. "I'm just like…. Salt."

"Then why don't you act more like… sugar?"

"It-It's not who I am…. I can't. It's too late anyway." She said quietly. "Have you… ever pretended to be someone you aren't?"

"Sure." He replied basically.

"Then I guess you'll… understand."

He nodded. She didn't know if he replied or not (and you can't hear a nod). Was he angry at her? Oyo frowned; she should be angry with him – but, she didn't really want to stay 'enemies' with him, so she turned round to face him fully, eyes still shut. "You're still there, right?"

"Yeah." He replied.

"….. Kakashi…?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm… sorry." She said wobbly – in fact, she didn't even sound sorry at all. "I'm sorry that we always… argue."

"It's okay…"

"Kakashi? I er… really want to see what you look like behind the mask … but... I think I don't have to see it anymore. It's the **you **_you _are right now. That's… the real you behind the mask… I think." _Gawd,_ she thought. _Why does this sound so lame? I don't even understand what I've just said! And why am I even saying these stuff? Like as if he gives a hoot._

He blinked. "Oyo-chan…"

"Maybe others can't see it. People can't see what's inside other people's heart … but I think I can. I can feel it – even though my eyes are closed. Are you… suffering? That story you told me … that boy… is it you?" She said – with eyes still closed. This is the right time when people want to put pillows over their faces and cringe in them upon hearing this (including me) – exactly what Oyo wanted to do.

He didn't reply.

She raised a slow and shaking arm up, and made sure her fingertips landed lightly on his Sharingan eye, just at the scar. "I noticed it before. D-D…Does it hurt?"

He looked down, remembering the loooooong story he had told her last night, "No, not on the outside."

What did that mean? Was he suffering on the inside?

"Where's your family?" She asked. "I've… never heard of you talking about them."

He took quite a while to reply. "They're dead."

Once he placed his hand over hers, she quickly retrieved her arm. Her mind was reeling. _TOO MUCH COMFORT!_ "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. Sorry, I didn't mean to – " Then she stopped, unsure what to say. "…Sorry." She finished off pathetically.

"It's okay." He answered quietly.

"Oh."

This time, the long-term silence was deafeningly.

"Kakashi?"

"Oyo?"

She was actually glad he was still here. "…Yeah?" She said inaudibly.

She felt something.

Not directly on the lips (A/N - Because they're all dry and icky lol – and she hasn't brushed her teeth yet either), but on the cheek, very gently. As light as a feather. In fact, she wasn't even sure if he did kiss her.

But she did feel something. And she jerked back in surprise. "Wh-What was that for?(!)"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It just… felt like the right moment." He replied sheepishly.

She threw the pillow at him. "SCREW YOU!" And then she began to beat him over and over again with it until eventually, she became exhausted and slumped onto the plush sofa.

Kakashi recovered from the pillow that was being constantly thrown at him, and pulled his mask back up lazily. He stared at the girl who was still glancing at the left side of the room, trying to hear where he was now. "You can open your eyes now. I've got my mask on."

Oyo stopped, and then scowled. "I don't believe you." She began talking to thin air.

He sighed again, scooted her back over to him, lifted her hands up and made her touch the soft fabric of his mask. As soon as her fingers came in contact with it, she opened her eyes, fuzzy images in front of her. Kakashi with his mask on – yup, everything was back to normal. She blinked and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"Feel better?"

She nodded considerably. "Yeah… can you please let go of my wrists now?"

He let go.

"Thanks."

More silence. Then, from the corner of her eye, Oyo spotted something that made her gape back at Kakashi, before she screamed.

**And now…**

Oyo almost broke the dish she had in her hands.

Naruto watched her idly from the counter, wondering what had happened to make her so mad. His gaze averted to his sensei, who was reading his book opposite Naruto on another bench, with Sakura and Sasuke beside him on each side. He didn't feel like ordering ramen today – Oyo didn't even say 'hi' to him when he came up, and she certainly didn't reply to him when he rang the bell. Instead, Ayame had to cover up. Oyo was clearly drenched in a foul, stinking disposition. Her eyes filled with more venom than ever behind the sunglasses.

_Stupid. Kakashi. He. Is. A. Moron! _

**Crack!**

The bowl in Oyo's hand finally broke as she scrubbed at it furiously with the sponge and clattered onto the floor.

"You're paying for that!" The shopkeeper shouted from inside.

Oyo grumbled and cleared the broken dish, then began scrubbing at another one.

**Crack!**

There goes another bowl.

"And you're paying for that one too!"

Fuming, Oyo dumped the sponge into the water and sighed. Kakashi swerved his eye from his eye and glanced at her, then quickly looked back to his book. Naruto pondered, and then slowly moved to sit beside his sensei.

"Psst. Kakashi-sensei. What's wrong with Oyo?"

"Oh, she's just having a mood swing." He assumed. _Actually, she's angry that she got kissed by a log._

Back in the morning, Kakashi had split himself into three clones, the first one, Oyo demolished when she threw a lamp at it, and the second one went to check up on her when the doorbell rang, whilst, he, the **real **Kakashi, went out into the garden to do the laundry. He didn't realise what had happened, only to see Oyo gaping at the log that was lying in front of her on the sofa. He guessed his clone must've done something to her – why hadn't he been there to seen it? She stared at him, then at the log. Then, she screamed and marched out from his home.

"_WAIT, OYO-CHAN!" He shouted at her from the doorway. _

_She glared at him. "What do you want now?"_

"_I really don't know what my clone had done to you, but whatever he did do, it's all based on what I would've done." He didn't know what her reaction would be like, and braced himself for the worst. _

_Instead, Oyo went extremely red, touched her cheek and quickly walked away muttering to herself. _

_Did his clone…. Kiss her…, perhaps?_

Naruto scratched his head. "Ah… girls are weird."

Sakura heard this and a vein popped. "What. Was. That?"

"Hatake-san!"

Kakashi looked away from Sakura strangling Naruto in the corner and looked at the man wearing spandex in front of him. "Gai?" Indeed, the man with the bowl-shaped haircut and his one student (who had also taken the splitting image of his sensei, being his 'Mini-Me'), Rock Lee. Immediately, 'Mini-Me' here ran up to Sakura.

"Sakura-san!" Lee said happily. "So nice to see you again!" And he smiled.

Sakura put her hand over her eyes to shield from his utter-perfect white dentures, giving Naruto a chance to escape her clutches. "Uh… Hi, Lee-san."

Oyo stood up to look at the new customers, and glanced at Lee. "Hm. I thought you were a lot taller the last time I saw you – "

"Oyo-chan!" Gai ran over to her and smiled at her, just like how Lee did to Sakura a while ago.

"Oh… it's Gai-kun." Oyo replied, and she immediately stopped rubbing so fiercely on the poor bowl (which had been spared from being broken in half). "…. Nice to see you."

"Oyo-chan, I didn't know you were working here! If I had known sooner, I would come here every single day to eat your delicious cooking!"

"Uh… you're too kind." _Yet, he's probably better than Kakashi in personality_. "Unlike **some** people." She shot Kakashi a brief look, before glancing at Lee. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is one of my students, Lee." Gai sat in front of her, Naruto glowered – that was his seat! So, now, Naruto ended up sitting beside Sasuke (rather reluctantly) who was watching the interesting scene. Sakura was stuck with Lee, and Kakashi had his nose stuck in the book, though, for the whole time, he was secretly observing Oyo and Gai.

"Ah, so what kind of ramen do you specialize?"

"Er… I would just say…. Just some chicken dishes and vegetable ones, basically. I'm not entirely gifted with the other, harder-to-make ones."

"I disagree, with Oyo-chan's perfect hands and personality; I believe you'll make a fine job in this stand." Then, from behind his back, he whipped out a bunch of flowers. "These are for you, my lady."

Everyone stared. Where'd he get that from?

Kakashi's eye twitched visibly as Oyo giggled at him, accepting the flowers gratefully.

"Thank you, Gai-kun. You truly are a gentleman." Then, she took one particular pretty and bright flower, sniffed it, and then – popped it into her mouth. "Mmm. I love Polyanthus in the morning and bit of Pyracantha for seconds."

Everyone ogled at the stems protruding from her mouth as she munched on the flowers.

"Thanks again, Gai-kun. I'll let you have a free bowl of ramen today."

"NANI?(!)" Naruto butted in – apparently he seemed to be the only one oblivious to the fact that she had just eaten a flower. "Oyo-chan, how can you let him have a free bowl, yet I have to pay all the time!"

"Naruto-kun… " She giggled, placing the flowers under the counter. "Gai-kun is a jounin. I should let him have ramen on my tab for today."

The blondie scoffed and sat back on his stool in a huff. "But I'm a little and cute growing boy who needs his nutrition to grow healthy and strong… " He fake-wailed.

Sakura shuddered. _What an idiot._

"Okay, okay, Naruto-kun!" She said happily at Naruto. "You're my best friend – I'll let you have a free bowl of ramen today, but that's a secret between you and me!" She hoped Ayame or the shopkeeper hadn't heard. They didn't.

He beamed immediately. Oyo took Naruto's and Gai's order and went back into the kitchen. Gai turned to Kakashi. "So, my eternal rival - How's it going? Oyo-chan sure is a fine girl."

Kakashi grunted in response and kept his eyes glued onto the book.

"Kakashi-kun!"

Everyone winced and turned round. Kakashi gaped at Leiko who came bounding over. "Imagine seeing you over here!" She said happily. Then she turned and saw Sasuke, before giving him a tight hug. Sakura's fist clenched. "Sasuke-kun!" Leiko shrieked happily.

Sasuke immediately pulled her off him. "Nice to see you too… Leiko."

Naruto frowned at this Leiko woman – she was the one who gave Kakashi the kissy marks. Oyo should be doing that, not her! Meanwhile, Sakura was brooding portentously at her from behind Sasuke, and he joined her.

"Ah… Kakashi-kun. This must be your team." Leiko sat beside him and wrapped an arm around his arm.

"You're not… angry at me?"

"No, of course I won't be, ever!" Then she kissed him on the temple.

Sakura's and Lee's eyes popped. Naruto felt sick and Sasuke's eye twitched (ne, so many eyes twitching these days). Sakura put her hand over Naruto's eyes; Naruto put his over Sasuke's. The Uchiha boy quickly shoved Naruto away from him. Gai elbowed Kakashi with a grin. "Hey, didn't know you got a girl, thus, now I can now divert my attention onto Oyo-chan without acknowledging the fact that you will be jealous…!"

Did Gai really have to say that out? Kakashi deliberately ignored Gai and looked at Leiko in progress. "You've met Sasuke?" Kakashi asked with an eyebrow raised.

Leiko glanced at the Uchiha. "Uh... yeah. He's such a cute and nice boy! (Sasuke closed his eyes shut with a sweatdrop, Naruto stifled a laugh) Are you going to introduce me to your other students?" She pointed at a frowning Sakura and Naruto - then at Gai, and at Lee, who all blinked at her.

"Oh, these are my other students, Sakura and Naruto – This is Gai, he's another jounin, and his student, Lee." Kakashi replied.

"Ohayou, minna-san. I'm Leiko – "

"Are you a ninja?" Naruto asked uncouthly, pointing at her forehead protector.

"Why, yes, I'm a chuunin, or I used to be." Leiko replied. "Oh, you're adorable as Sasuke-kun!" She pinched at Naruto's cheeks; he writhed uncomfortably under her grip.

"Ano… thanks?"

She let go of him. Sakura looked at her enviously. "Matsumoto-san, how do you know Kakashi-sensei?"

Oyo came back out from the kitchen, and stared at the small crowd. Since when did the Ichiraku ramen become so busy? She stared at the woman latched onto Kakashi's arm. She was currently explaining to Sakura… something she didn't really want to hear, and shoved Gai's bowl of ramen to him. He thanked her and tried to engage conversation, but Oyo had already walked off; Oyo gave Naruto his bowl and he began to dig in, talking to Lee at the same time. Oyo recognized this woman from this morning….

"Oi, Ramen-Girl!" Leiko called at her, her arm still looped with Kakashi's.

Ack! Oyo sauntered over reluctantly – her eye twitched as she looked at their arms. "Uh, hai? How may I take your order?"

There was an indistinctive crackling force of electricity emitting from their eyes, and Kakashi believed that he could see it. Oyo glared at Leiko whilst Leiko glared back at her. "Chicken ramen. On the double."

"You got it."

What was going on between them two? If Kakashi could see it… he would've thought that they two were possibly… fighting over him? Heh, two women, fighting over Hatake Kakashi – who would've imagined it – that it's actually and finally happening. Kakashi - The one who sealed all his possible emotions within him until women entered his life. He looked tiredly at them, especially at Oyo, who never took her eyes off Leiko as she brought the ramen bowl in front of her. She was too preoccupied in glaring at Leiko to notice him.

"There. Enjoy your meal."

"Thanks." Leiko never touched her bowl, instead, she got a spoon and dipped it into the ramen, lifting up some soup, before she turned it – and it 'accidentally' spilt all over her clothes. "Whoopsie, I spilt some on my lap." She said - cheerfuly.

Then she smiled at Kakashi.

"Kakashi-kun! Help me wipe it!" And she grabbed his hand towards her lap but he jerked back as Oyo had turned round.

She frowned and turned back. _That is so sad. _

If Naruto had read her thoughts, he wouldn't know who Oyo was addressing to, either Kakashi, or Leiko?

As they watched Kakashi struggle with a small sweatdrop ("Leiko-chan, there's paper towels beside you."), Sakura suddenly remembered. "Hana-chan is looking for you, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura tugged at his jacket and gestured. "She told me to pass this message to you; she wants to meet you at the park."

_This may be Hana-chan's time to be in the spotlight! _

"Oh?" Kakashi looked up and Leiko let go of him. "Really, now?" He glanced at Oyo, who was washing the dishes, back still turned to him.

After a few minutes of explanation, Leiko had left with Sasuke, Gai and Lee walked off – leaving Sakura with Naruto and Kakashi at the ramen stand.

Sakura nodded.

Kakashi sighed, and got off from his stool. "Well, ja ne, Oyo-chan. Sakura, Naruto, you two can return home."

Oyo ignored him and began scrubbing at the bowl rigorously with half of her thin sponge, emitting a high pitched non-stop squeaking. Kakashi noticed this, and glanced at her for a few seconds. She was having a hard time resisting the urge.

_Don't look back, whatever you do, just don't! _

She did, unfortunately, ignoring Inner Oyo 1. "About time you left."

"Ah." Kakashi grimaced slightly. "Are you still angry that a log kissed you?"

Naruto and Sakura 'eep'ed when they heard that. Oyo burned red. "SHUT UP!" She threw the sponge at him, and he ducked, it hit someone behind him.

And that someone happened to be…

"Hana-chan!" Sakura squeaked. "Oyo-chan, watch where you throw things!" Sakura said angrily at Oyo.

"Hey, it wasn't Oyo-chan's fault!" Naruto defended her.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed back at him fiercely. "Look at what your nom – " Then she stopped and quickly covered her mouth.

Kakashi observed. Naruto quickly shushed her and Sakura smiled nervously. They looked at Oyo. The blue haired girl seemed to have zoned out amidst the fighting and was just standing with wet gloves on her hand, mouth hanging open. She looked like a zombie… Kakashi turned to Hana who was smiling sheepishly, taking the wet bubbly sponge off her head and drying her ponytail. "Uh, hi."

"Are you okay?" He turned to Oyo, who still seemed shocked at what she had just done.

"G-Gomen." Oyo spluttered, snapping out of her trance, and then she ran back inside.

"Oyo-chan?" Naruto called after her.

No response.

"Hana-chan, are you okay?" Sakura asked tentatively at the brown haired woman.

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan." Hana replied, though she looked worriedly at Naruto, then at the door leading to the kitchen of the stand.

"So, shall we get going then?" Kakashi asked Hana. She looked at him, then back at the ramen before she nodded for a split second.

Kakashi had already led her away and the pink haired girl had the urge to follow them to the park, but stopped herself in time. Sakura looked at Naruto - Then at the kitchen door. "Hey… is Oyo-chan alright?"

"Why would you care?" Naruto asked her feverishly as he slumped on the counter. "You've acted like you didn't like her at all from the very start."

Sakura swallowed slightly and sat beside Naruto. "Sorry… It's not that I don't like Oyo-chan. It's – "

"What?"

"It's just… the competitive nature inside me." She replied with a slight cheesy smile. _Not one of my best excuses… I just want Hana-chan to win. Then **I** can get extra credit from Kaka-sensei! _

Naruto blushed when she smiled at him. Then, he smiled as well. "Ne, well I guess we could call this a competition. But I think Oyo-chan's really unhappy right now."

"What do you think happened to her and Kakashi?" Sakura considered.

"Well…. I sort of… set them up yesterday night."

"WHAT!"

Naruto laughed nervously. "Sakura-chan?"

"YOU CHEATER!" Then she stomped away.

"Hey, Sasuke cheated too! He didn't even tell us his nominee had already met Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called after her.

Sakura stopped, and then looked to the side sullenly. She guessed… He was right.

**With Kakashi and Hana…**

Uh. This sure was awkward.

Hana had thrown her arms around him as they seated themselves on the park bench. She snuggled into his chest and had squeezed hr eyes shut. Kakashi was feeling very awkward. First of all, because little kids and other people were walking past them, and second, he kept thinking of Oyo.

That girl with the bad temper sure bugged his thoughts these days.

"Hana-chan?"

"What?"

"Sorry, but can you let go of me?"

"Sure… sorry. I was-was just – "

"It's okay; you don't have to explain to me. I know… " He began. Oh god, this was going to be very hard. No matter how much he tried to make himself like Hana – she was, after all, smart and lovely, but still… He felt like he was 'reserved' for Oyo, and for Oyoshi only. Funny – how much their odd interaction with one another could lead up this way, maybe it was just 'opposites attract'? The space in his arms should be for Oyo. "I know you like me a lot and – "

She started crying.

Did she know the inevitable already?

In that case, it would make things a lot easier.

"Kakashi-kun… I can't be with you."

He blinked. Ooh, this was so easy. She let go of him and sobbed to herself quietly. He didn't know whether to put a hand on her shoulder or not. People were now whispering, and staring at Kakashi – as if he was the one who had made her cry.

"Hana..?"

She stopped crying and looked at him, taking off her glasses and wiping them dry. "I'm so ashamed of myself. It's not you, it's me…"

"Hana-chan, tell me what's been going on."

"Well… I've… I've… I've been seeing a woman lately…"

He paused.

Oh.

Now that changed a lot.

**Back to the Ramen Stand…**

"Oyo-chan? Oyo-chan?" Sakura called, leaning over the counter so much that she was going to fall over.

The blue haired girl waddled out and looked at Sakura despairingly. "Ya?"

"I'm sorry about earlier on, Oyo-chan." Sakura said sheepishly, sitting back down. She felt a bit at ease talking to Oyo now; since Naruto had gone to check up on Sasuke. Now this was just girl-to-girl talk.

"Ne, Sakura-chan. It's not your fault. I probably shouldn't be like such a man-girl and – " She stopped when Sakura began to laugh lightly. "What? What did I say?"

"Man-girl?" Sakura chortled. "Oyo-chan, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I shouldn't be so gruff and rough towards people. After all, I am a girl." Oyo said glumly, pointing to her long hair and her clothes.

"Ne, Oyo-chan." Sakura began. "It's who you are, and you can't change it."

"And that's that I don't like about myself." Then she whispered to Sakura. "I scared away Kakashi – and Gai." She began to wipe her mouth, and she poured a lot of Sake from the flask behind the counter into a cup. "Sakura-chan, do you want a drink as well?"

"No thanks."

"Urgh… flowers sure taste icky." Oyo murmured. "Can't believe I had to do that to get Gai-kun away from me. Ne, looks like it hasn't really worked, has it? I wish I was different."

Sakura giggled and stuck her tongue out amiably. "Oh, Oyo-chan… you're fine the way you are. In fact, you remind me of myself. My 'Inner Sakura', I call her."

Oyo laughed as well. "Apparently, Sakura-chan, you aren't the only one. I have about… (she counted them off her fingers)… three 'Inner Oyo's'." She said with a smile. "But that's our little secret, ne?"

Sakura smiled and nodded as well. _I guess… Oyo-chan isn't really a bad character. She just needs to be understood…_

**With Sasuke and Leiko…**

"Who in the world is that girl?" Leiko huffed, at the same time puffing out her chest with her hands on her hips. "If she lays one hand on Kakashi-kun, I'll have her head!"

Sasuke leant off the tree with his hands in his pockets. "There's no point of doing that. Seeing Naruto's nominee is already a joke. She doesn't stand a chance."

The shrunken sliced a tree in half, and returned to her outstretched hand. She merely flicked at her hair. "I really don't know why I'm doing this for you. I've had over 20 boyfriends – I don't like to stick to people for long."

At that point, Leiko looked to the side as Sasuke began talking.

"You have lousy patience."

She snorted. "Well, at least I have dignity. Unlike that Sakura-chick. I can tell; she is all over you (Sasuke seemed to have looked up laboriously). And that Naruto boy – "

Naruto, who was sneaking behind a bush to see what was happening – was suddenly lifted from the collar and hoisted right up. He came face to face with dark, ruby red eyes. "Ho ho, speak of the devil. It's Naruto-kun."

Sasuke death glared at him. "Why are you here?"

Naruto crossed his arms as Leiko dropped him on the ground. "Just checking on you, Sasuke. Sakura-chan is awfully worried about you right now - "

**Quick Scene Change at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand…**

"Dorinku! Dorinku! Dorinku! Dorinku!" (Apparently, 'dorinku' means 'drink' by the way).

Ayame and Oyo were chanting as Sakura, standing on the ground, with one leg on the bar stool, hand on hip; tipped a huge flask of Sake down her throat, and when she finished it after a few minutes of non-stop gurgling, she slammed it on the counter.

Ayame and Oyo cheered when Sakura wiped her mouth and cheered as well. "Yoshaaa!"

"Okay! Whose turn is it now to drink the Sake?" Oyo sang, holding up a large flask. Then, she looked at an almost-drunk Sakura. "Hey, shouldn't you be looking for Sasuke by now?"

Sakura looked delirious and hiccupped. "Sasuke-who?"

**Ahem, back to Sasuke, Naruto and Leiko…**

"Heh. This blonde kid really is persistent." Leiko said prodding at him. Naruto squirmed away from her. She gave him the heebie jeebies for some reason, even if she was very pretty that Naruto had a hard time ripping his eyes away from her.

"Naruto, why exactly are you are?" Sasuke snarled at him.

"Okay, okay." Naruto replied. "I just want you to know, that Oyo-chan will not lose to _her_!" he pointed to Leiko was filing her nails against her shuriken, letting some of the dust fall onto the ground.

Sasuke and Leiko sweatdropped.

"Mark my words!" Naruto said proudly, and then he turned, and left.

"Overconfident baka…" Sasuke muttered.

Naruto marched back to the village. He couldn't believe now Sasuke was his rival just for this! It was just supposed to be a plot to get Kakashi hooked up with a girl so they could get better missions and other stuff. Now, it was a bit like a battlefield. Now even Sakura was becoming competitive against him with her nominee. How would Oyo compare to Leiko? Leiko seemed more mature than Oyo, she could fight and she even was a chuunin! And Oyo – a thief, got put in jail, now a ramen girl…. Naruto grimaced.

**Back to the Park…**

Hana… was attracted to the same gender as herself?

In other terms… she was….

Ahem.

_You get the picture, right? _

"The time I hugged you – that was a last attempt to feel something from the opposite sex, but it… it didn't work." Hana sobbed. "I… I should've told you earlier, then you probably wouldn't have gotten any wrong signals and… "

She broke down.

Kakashi calmed her down. "Geez, Hana-chan. It's okay, I completely understand." He told her with a smile. _In that case, I can go and apologise to Oyo now._

"Kakashi-kun, you sure are really a good friend." Then she looked down wryly at her hands. "I'm really sorry if I've caused any problems."

"No, no… it's fine. Honestly. I understand."

"Y-You do?" She seemed to have a brightened up a bit. "Arigatou, Kakashi-kun! Well, I'm glad I told you this before the situation became even worse. Ja-ne!"

She leapt from the park bench, and ran back towards the road leading to the village square. Kakashi looked up at the sky, basking in the sun's warmth for a few seconds, before getting back up.

"Right… " He started, "Time to cheer up a pissed off Oyo."

**Ramen stand…. Afternoon/evening… **

Ayame, Oyo and Sakura were behind the counter, singing in front of customers – the three of them all drunk on Sake – or at least, they were drunk on some sort of Japanese beverage that made them all red in the faces, talking in a slurred manner, having smelly breath etc.

The shopkeeper who had been tied up and locked in the closet by the girls sighed (That's what I call girl power). "Women… they'll be the death of me..." The old man said.

He could hear the music – or more like, tuneless singing, mostly Oyo who was singing the loudest – after all, she did drink a lot during their break. And he could also hear the customers cheering and whooping.

This sure was a memorable night (more sarcasm).

Kakashi eventually reached the ramen stand with Naruto, whom he found sulking around the outskirts of town, and watched the three girls scream their heads off and sing any random song. Kakashi immediately went up to the stand, squeezing past the huge throng of a crowd, and arrived at the counter.

"Ne… and what does a big, strong man like you want?" Oyo slurred as she noticed him.

"Oyo, it's me."

"I already know who you are – " She blew a raspberry. "Kakashi – Hatake Kakashiiiii aka Oyajiiiii. So… whad oo want?"

"You're coming home with me." Kakashi said, he pushed the door leading to the inside of the counter open.

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei! What do I do?" Naruto leapt up and down from behind a tall, bulky man at the front, waving. He spotted Sakura, and quickly scooted over. "Uh… I think I'll take Sakura-chan home."

Kakashi looked at Naruto struggling with Sakura. He sighed. "What did these two girls do to you, Sakura-chan? Oi, Naruto, where does this baka live?" He pointed to an Oyo who was lolling around groggily muttering about 'flapjacks'.

Naruto shrugged. "I think she lives in this ramen stand." He left with Sakura, thus, Kakashi was left with a tough crowd, Ayame, and the old man locked up in the closet, who was banging his fists against the door. Kakashi kicked it open and the old man stumbled out. "Ah, arigatou, Hatake-san."

"No bother, now, where does she live?"

The old man shrugged.

"What? How could you not know?"

"She never tells us."

"Don't you have any employee records?"

The old man shook his head. "This is just a ramen stand, not some kind of office."

Kakashi rolled his eye, and then dragged Oyo out of the stand, leaving the old man to satiate the crowd and a drunken Ayame alone.

He sighed. With no place to go, he couldn't just leave her out on the cold dirty streets. She gurgled slightly in his grasp, eyes closed, before wrenching herself out from his grasp. She twiddled over to a corner, and retched. Kakashi sighed, walked over to her and rubbed her back soothingly. She stopped and slumped against him once he collected her.

"Oyo-chan, this is exactly what I was talking about this morning." Kakashi said. _I feel like it's my duty to protect you no matter what. And the way how I see it, you really need someone to look after you._

He ended up taking her back to his apartment; as much as he was worried that Leiko might come barging down any moment. The house seemed very quiet. Kakashi unlocked his door, watching Oyo from the corner of his eye – she was busy sitting on the floor playing with a spider – then she picked it up, watching the icky hairy legs thrash around. Quickly, he swatted her hand free before she would do anything outrageous (not to mention, _stupid_) with it and the spider scuttled away from her.

He opened the door, then grabbed Oyo from under the arms, and lifted her inside, then shut the door behind him. He placed her down on the landing while he took off his shoes, switching on the light. Oyo flopped back and sprawled herself over the wooden floor – staring at the light – her sunglasses askew off her nose.

"Oyo-chan?"

She didn't answer him, except stare up blankly at the ceiling.

He dragged her inside the living room, and put her on his sofa, getting the same blanket from the cupboard. _Sheesh, she's using it again, all in one day. _

When he returned to Oyo's side, she had her eyes closed, and was drooling over herself. He sighed. "You just can't make this an easier for me, will you?" He muttered. She turned round to get herself into a comfortable position, but he turned her back, this time, she was lying on her stomach – and he untied her apron, before turning her back round to her back. He lifted the apron off her and discarded it into the lone corner. Right… now, onto her yukata. Kakashi hesitated.

This was sooo wrong.

But, she smelt horrible and her clothes were covered in drool, not to mention, she sort of… had splashes of vomit over it…. His hands clawed its way over and latched onto the rim of her robe. Kakashi closed his eye, and prepared.

……….

Oyo woke up.

"What? Where am I? Who - ?" She found herself in a familiar room – with the familiar lamp on the table, and she looked down from the sofa. Kakashi was there at the foot, lying in the same futon – she could tell he had his mask off – yet the lamp was too dull, she couldn't see his features, and she was glad. Oyo flopped back onto the sofa, sighing.

"What happened to me?" She moaned to no-one in particular.

"You became drunk." Kakashi replied.

She leapt. "I thought you were asleep."

"No. It's too early."

Silence.

"Where do you live?" He asked.

"N-Nowhere." She lied.

"You can't live in 'nowhere'."

"No, really… I don't have a home."

"Then where do you go to sleep?"

"…At this rundown temple in the suburbs of Konoha."

Kakashi jerked right up. "Are you crazy! You can't live there! It's not proper accommodation and - "

"Hey, it keeps me sheltered from the rain, that's all what matters."

"But isn't it cold, dirty and – just… unacceptable standards of living?" He questioned.

"Yeah, but – "

"You're even lucky you don't have pneumonia yet."

"Hey, it's only been about a couple of weeks since I came here."

More silence.

"I just don't understand you sometimes, Oyo-chan, why don't you just go back to your real home – "

Oops. More wrong choice of words.

Oyo went quiet. "You want me to go?"

"NO!" He shouted. "This time, really, NO. I don't want you to go. In fact - You're living here from now on."

"N-N-N-Nani!" She shrieked. "I can't live here! I don't want to live with you anyway."

"I don't care. Your belongings are just the clothes you wear on your back, right?"

She squirmed and noticed that she was free of her annoying yukata, only dressed in shorts and the t-shirt she had underneath. Hey… hey… where were her clothes? She was starting to get nervous. "Oh my god! You _undressed_ me?"

"Someone had to do it. You were smelly and everything. Can't have that in my home." Kakashi said softly.

"I don't know why you're saying that, considering your home is already smelly and everything!"

Kakashi ignored that statement. "Look, you're still wearing t-shirt and shorts, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"So why are you making such a big deal? I didn't see anything."

"How dare you!" She fumed. "_I_ have dignity, unlike _you_."

He rolled his eye. "Whatever. Go to sleep."

Oyo was silently seething, but luckily, she held most of it in. for some reason, she always let go of things when she was about to fall asleep… Grrr… she hated that. It meant that Kakashi would get away with it… just for this night.

**The Next Day…**

"So, where is this temple?"

She pointed briefly to the edge of town, past the ramen stand, and Kakashi cheerfully walked towards that direction. When he realised that Oyo wasn't following him, he turned back round, she was standing solemnly, staring at the ground.

"Oyo-chan?" He walked back to her and put an arm over her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She bit her lip. "I don't get why you're doing this for me." She said with her eyes closed, and then she opened them again and looked warily to the side. Oyo tugged at the clothes she borrowed from him (extra large black t-shirt and sandals) while her clothes were in the wash. "I'm nasty to you, yet you still help me. I feel like such a horrible person."

"You're not." He patted her gently and reassuringly with a smile. "Come." He led her by the hand. "We'll get your belongings, and you can move in with me." Although he walked her silently into the path, he kept a keen eye on the lookout.

_Someone… is following us. _

"Kakashi?" Oyo asked him timidly. "What's wrong with you?"

He scooted her into a bush and told her to hide there for the time being. Oyo shrugged, and sat back, watching the scene as she peered from the bush. Kakashi just stood in the clearing, lonesome.

"What is he doing?" Oyo asked herself. Then, as soon as her head sidled to the left, a kunai just narrowly missed her temple, cutting off a couple of her blue hairs and snapping her sunglasses - landed just centimetres beside her. "Wah – !" She slumped down, knocked out cold.

Kakashi pulled the branches down. "Oyo-chan!" he lifted her unconscious form up – there were (anime styled) swirls in her eyes. Oh, she was okay; she had just gotten a fright - that was all. Kakashi held her close to him. "Show yourself."

Leiko appeared in front of him in a poof of smoke.

"Leiko-chan?"

"Hmph. She really is a wimp." She retrieved her kunai and tucked it into her belt. "Where are you two going, Kakashi-kun? You didn't say 'hi' to me this morning."

He frowned slightly at her, and then glanced back at Oyo. "That's none of your business."

Leiko snorted. "Sheesh, I thought we were friends (or more than that)."

"We are _friends_. You're just not friends with Oyo." Kakashi lifted the unconscious girl up. "Now, if you would excuse me. I'm taking her back home."

She watched him turn away from her and walk casually back to the village. Leiko frowned. "Kakashi!" She called. "I don't get it! What exactly does that girl have that I don't?"

He turned round slightly. "A heart."

"Whu - ?" She said, eyebrow raised.

"Your heart." He murmured, "Oyo's heart is different than yours a lot. She may act intolerable and rude, like as if she really hates me, but inside, I know that she really likes me a lot, not depending on looks, but personality."

Leiko gawked at him. "What the hell are you talking about?" She launched her shuriken at his feet, but he stepped over it. "Kakashi! Come back!" She wailed desperately. "No-one's ever resisted me! Not my 20 boyfriends! I have a record, you know! No-one ever dumps me! Kakashi! Come back! I still have a batch of Prawn Bisque to give you!"

He didn't turn round. "We weren't even dating, and I don't like French food either."

She looked at him silently, her forehead protector falling down over her eyes. _I guess he's… different than the rest of the guys I've dated…_

He ignored Leiko who had stopped yelling his name and entered the village. _Well, so much for getting her things. At this rate, she'll never wake up. _

He set her down on the ground, and patted her cheeks gently. She whined and swatted his hand away, then opened her eyes. "Ah...What just happened?"

"Oh. A kunai almost cut the side of your head and you fainted."

She shrieked and checked the side of her head. She realised that her sunglasses were broken and strands of her precious hair was cut. "My hair (!) - My sunglasses (!)."

"Hey, the hair will grow back. I already told you - You look better without the sunglasses." He said, putting his hand into his pockets. He watched her rise up steadily, and helped her.

Oyo didn't look at him, but she still blushed slightly. _Crap. _

"Well, you seem okay now." He observed her and she stared back at him morosely. "Let's get your things again."

"WHAT? I was almost killed back there!"

"Don't worry." He smiled at her – the eye curling. She flinched. "I'll protect you." And he placed an arm over her shoulder and drew her close to him. "No-one will ever you if I'm here. That's a promise." Then he added a sleazy look to his face and she paled.

"Eurgh… I don't want you to protect me. I want Naruto-kun… or even Sasuke-kun… at least I trust them more than I trust you…"

He pretended to be sad with this remark, yet Oyo ignored him. They eventually reached the temple – it was rundown and extremely derelict. "You live here?" He said unbelievably.

She nodded. "Just at night time though." She added a cheesy grin.

They entered. It was damp – the straw on the ground was filthy and it smelt a bit weird. A few rats scuttled by. "Funny… " Oyo said as she sniffed the air. "It feels a lot cleaner than it had before."

Kakashi thought. If Oyo had been living here – had she even had a bath? He eyed her cautiously.

"A bath? Yeah, I have – there's secret hot springs over there behind some bushes, and I can even wash my clothes too."

He let out a breath of relief.

Oyo collected her stuff from the slab of rock near a statue of a god – a fishing rod, some pickled-preserved fish and duck eggs in an onigiri-keeping tin buried under a slab in the mud, a pair of worn out shoes, the trench jacket, the hat, some old newspapers, a towel, two toilet rolls and some planks of wood. He gestured to the wood.

"You… won't be needing that."

She frowned and dropped them from her arms. "Can I keep the eggs though? And the fish?"

He nodded. "Sure."

**A Few Days Later, at the Ramen Stand…**

"NE! What do you mean Hana-chan likes **girls**?" Sakura asked, totally gobsmacked. She stared at Kakashi, who was reading a new volume of _Icha Icha Paradise_, brought to him by courtesy of Hana-chan herself as a token of 'thanks'.

Naruto gave a hoot of laughter and rolled around in his stool. "Hah! Take that Sakura-chan!"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura moaned at him. "Please tell me you're joking!"

"Sorry, but that's what she told me, Sakura-chan."

"But you two were so perfect together!" Sakura protested.

Sasuke sneered and clasped his hands together. _And to think… even Leiko has told me that Kakashi doesn't like her. _

With this news, Naruto smiled and tightened his forehead protector around his head once heard that news. "Then we know who the winner is!" He whispered to Sakura and Sasuke.

They both didn't look at him, and instead, looked the opposite direction of each other, frowning. Oyo came in with their ramen bowls. "Oh, what's going on here?"

Naruto grinned. "Congratulations, Oyo-chan!" He said happily to her, shaking her hand.

She blinked; this time she had no sunglasses: since they were still broken (she spent a few hours mourning over them in Kakashi's home). "Ah?"

He whispered into her ear. "We know already, you and Kakashi-sensei – "

Kakashi looked up slightly, upon hearing his name being mentioned. "What?"

"Never mind them." Sakura said, and then she offered Oyo and Naruto (mostly Oyo) a small smile. Kakashi shrugged and continued reading his book.

Naruto continued whispering, "– living together. He told us everything this morning."

Oyo flushed as she set the bowls in front of them. "Nani, Naruto-kun? We're just friends."

"Just 'friends'?" Naruto pressed on.

"Naruto, leave her alone." Sasuke said.

"Che, what do you know?" Naruto sat back in his stool, and Oyo silently thanked Sasuke, who smirked at her.

_Ooh, he's a bit creepy…. Sure, he oozes 'cool', but his demeanour… scary…but cool._ She smiled back at him.

"Oh yeah, we have a surprise for you, Oyo-chan." Sakura said happily, apparently, still recovering from the truth about Hana-chan. She elbowed Naruto, and he eventually remembered.

"Ah… here it is." He took out a small box from his pockets… and presented it to Oyo.

She blinked, and then looked at him. "Huh? A gift? That's okay, I don't – "

"It's from all three of us." Sasuke interpolated.

The whole team was thinking, _Actually, it's from Kakashi-sensei. We don't have that money. _

"Go on, open it." Kakashi said to her, smiling. He couldn't wait for her reaction.

Oyo looked at them all, bit her lip and bowed gratefully. "Thanks, I-I don't know what to say." She took it from Naruto carefully, and opened it, then gasped and smiled, looking back at them.

"A new pair of sunglasses?" She smiled gleefully at the team, and then pinched Sakura's cheek gently, then Naruto's, then at Sasuke who didn't seem to like it, but stayed calm anyway. He couldn't help but smile awkwardly. It didn't hurt at all. "You guys are so sweet; I'll let you have a free meal today, all of you."

"Oh, don't thank us, you should be thanking – "

Kakashi smacked a hand over Naruto's mouth before he could say anymore.

Oyo was busy admiring herself in a mirror at the kitchen with the sunglasses, but she didn't prop them over her eyes, she sat them on top of her head properly so they wouldn't fall off, and came back out. "I think I like it better sitting there, don't you?"

Everyone nodded.

Kakashi observed her the whole time… and then, his glance landed on Naruto.

_Naruto… just what have you been planning all along? _

**Meanwhile… a Few Hours Later…**

"Mmmmm…." Oyo said, licking her lips as she placed her pickle-preserved fish on the chopping board, about to behead itand cutit up into little slices to cram beside the rice in her bento forlunch, until -

"AAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Oyo almost chopped her hand off. Furious, she held up her fish and the knife, and ran into the counter, about to slap the person (who had given her such a fright) across the face with the fish. She stopped when she saw a familiar person. "Naruto! What's wrong?"

Naruto and Hinata ran up to her. Naruto looked ghastly, eyes widened, teeth bared, he looked terrified. Hinata looked the usual.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto spluttered helplessly.

"What about Kakashi?"

"He-He-He-He-"

"Spit it out!"

"He-He-He-"

"Argh, I don't need you, I'll ask Hinata-chan." She turned to the silent girl beside him.

"He's in trouble…" Hinata replied shakily.

"What!"

"Hewentfishingandhefellintotheriver!" Naruto said quickly.

"What do you mean he fell into a river!" She screeched back at him, she looked at her fish and just momentarily tucked it into her belt – then, grabbing his shoulders, she shook him to and fro. "TELL ME, GODDAMNIT!"

"Andicanthelphimbutyoucansogoandhelphim!" Naruto replied unsteadily once Oyo let go of him; His blue eyes swirling in their sockets. Hinata helped him regain his sense of balance.

"Which river? What way, Naruto-kun?"

He was sweating. Oyo was completely buying it. He pointed meekly (as told to), to the east. Oyo ripped off her apron and stuffed it behind the counter. "Ayame-chan! I'll be back soon! Naruto, Hinata – lead the way! Come on, go, go, go!"

Naruto and Hinata began running. At the same time, he was thinking; wouldn't Oyo think twice to think if Kakashi knew how to swim? Or how he could even 'drown' with a mask on anyway? Oyo was totally into this (!). Or maybe… Kakashi-sensei _had_ taken off his mask…? Naruto smirked – he could now see his sensei's face! He led her to the supposed river in which Kakashi had fell into, and watched Oyo scurry around like mad –

"KAKASHI!" She yelled – her voice echoed around in the quiet woods.

He observed her. She really did…. Care about Kakashi, a lot. Even if she says she doesn't. He turned to Hinata, who was obviously thinking the same way; they both looked at each other and smiled.

"Naruto?" She turned to him. "Where did you last see him?"

He pointed to a really secluded area, and watched her run towards it, before running back out with Hinata. There, they met Sakura and Sasuke.

"Urgh, I can't believe Kakashi-sensei even dragged Hinata-chan into this." Sakura said.

"Well, he does seem to trust her more than the dobe." Sasuke replied.

Naruto clenched his fists.

"Did she buy it?" Sakura asked, quickly changing the subject.

The blonde boy nodded. "Totally."

"Well, that's our part done. Let's go back." Sakura said. "Hinata-chan?"

The violet haired girl looked at Naruto. Sasuke had already made his way back. "Sakura?" He called once he realised that the pink-haired girl wasn't following him.

Sakura called back to him, "Wait, Sasuke-kun, Naruto – "

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled. "You can go first. I want to go back to check on them. Hinata-chan, do you want to come with me?"

"Sure…" Hinata smiled back at him, Naruto gave her his hand and they both quickly rushed back to the scene.

**Back to Oyoshi…**

Oyo looked around as she parted some branches away from her view. "Kakashi?" She called again. This was a very weird place to fish. The water was particularly deep nearer the middle, where she found a fishing rod, a piece of black fabric… and a familiar book floating beside it……

"OH MY GOD!" She screamed as she picked it up, then she dropped it in shock. "Kakashi's book! AIIEEEE! He must be in serious trouble!"

_(Superhero-styled music plays) Oyoshi to the rescue (Not)!_

She found a silver blob floating somewhat in the middle of the water, and immediately leapt into the water, and began shivering. Ee gawd! The water was freezing! She doggy-paddled over to him (swimming wasn't one of her best hobbies) – Kakashi was floating upside down, face lying in the water – he was in a dead man's position. For some reason, it seemed so comical; yet, she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back to the surface. It was hard as well – considering Kakashi's weight over her once she dropped on the riverbank with his unconscious form draped over her.

She coughed and spluttered, then rolled out from beneath him. "Kakashi?" She said groggily.

No response.

Oyo eyed his back wearily while he lay face down on the bank. She noticed that there was nothing wrapped around his neck – he wasn't wearing the usual turtleneck under the jacket – which meant – eep! He didn't have his mask on! And Oyo quickly ripped a rough piece of fabric from the sleeves of her flimsy yukata, and quickly tied it around her eyes.

Kakashi could hear her fumbling around. What was she doing? Oyo blindly touched him – found his arms and moved him so his back on the ground. He opened his eyes – darn, his plan wasn't working. Oyo had deliberately blindfolded herself so she wouldn't see what he looked liked. He sweatdropped – she can't be that determined **not** to see his face, can she?

And how long was he going to fool Oyo into thinking that he had 'drowned'?

**Flashback…**

_Having Naruto cornered in the empty classroom of the ninja academy, Kakashi's shadow covered Naruto's small form and he gazed down at him, "Naruto. Answer me. What have you been doing? I know all this was a set up." _

"_Hey, it wasn't just me! Sakura-chan and Sasuke done something too!" He pointed to Sakura and Sasuke in the corner, who quickly looked away innocently (well, Sasuke glared at Naruto). Kakashi also glared at Naruto. "Okay, okay. K-Kakashi-sensei. It was all my idea, I-I thought you might wanted a woman in your life so – " He looked at Sakura behind Kakashi. _

"_You dolt!" She whispered. "Don't tell him everything just yet!" _

_Naruto glanced back at his sensei and smiled cheesily at him. "Urgh…. I tried to set you up with Oyo-chan."_

_Sakura and Sasuke looked at Naruto, and then at Kakashi, who had gone quiet. "You… did?"_

"_Hai, Kakashi-sensei, don't hit me!" Naruto (sarcastically) pleaded, dropping to his feet in front of his sensei. _

"_Naruto! You – You – "_

_He braced for impact. _

"_You've done the most wonderful thing ever!" Kakashi exclaimed and he enveloped the blonde boy into a bone crushing hug. Naruto blinked. _

"_Huh?"_

"_Sakura-chan, you too, Sasuke, come over here. I want you guys to help me with something..."_

**End Flashback….**

_I never knew Kakashi-sensei could be so diabolical… _Naruto thought, and he ran back with Hinata to find Oyo sitting beside Kakashi's body, her ear to his chest. They stopped running when Oyo held a hand up.

"Oyo-chan…!" Hinata cried faintly. She put her hand over her mouth.

"Is Kakashi-sensei alright?" Naruto asked. He tried to run towards them to see Kakashi.

She immediately turned blindly to where she thought Naruto and Hinata was, and looked to her right (when he was at the left). "Naruto-kun! Don't come any closer! He's still breathing… thank god."

Naruto remembered his lines (which Kakashi told him to say) once Hinata nodded at him. "Ano… maybe you should do – " He glanced at his palm where some words were written on it. "Uh… _CPR_?" _What the heck is that? _

"No." She said calmly. _I can't do that to Kakashi whilst he is in this unconscious and helpless form without his mask. I cannot take advantage! And Naruto is also here…_ (The authoress at the side is giving her a weird look too).

Naruto blinked. What was she waiting for? Hinata was staring with slightly widened eyes.

"I have a better idea. Naruto, Hinata, step back." They hastily did so. Now what was Oyo doing? "I learned this during my survival training back in my village; Kakashi, breathe already, damn it!" And she clenched her fist, and punched him in the chest repeatedly.

Kakashi immediately jerked. "Argh! What are you doing, Oyo-chan?" He wheezed at her. Noticing that he had blown his cover, he flopped back down quickly.

"Kakashi? Naruto, Hinata, is he awake yet?" She asked. "I'm sure I heard him say something…"

If Oyo wasn't sitting at the side of Kakashi's upper body, Naruto could see his sensei's face…. But he could tell that Kakashi was still pretending to be knocked out. "No."

"Kakashi. Wake up."

No response.

"Don't make me punch you again."

Still nothing. Oyo turned to Naruto and Hinata, Naruto shrugged at her and ran off, Hinata tailing him closely. "Naruto? Naruto? Are you still there? Hinata-chan? I trust you! You can be my eyes – Hinata-chan?"

No response from Naruto or Hinata either (that's because they left!). She sat back and huffed, feeling around Kakashi's upper torso just to see if he was breathing or not – thankfully, he was okay. "What is up with people these days?" She turned round, trying to hear if anyone was still there.

Kakashi decided that this wasn't going on how he had planned. He had deliberately taken off his mask just so Oyo could see him maskless without him having to unmask in front of her, but she had been witty and wily too and had tied a blindfold over her eyes. He had the feeling that maybe Oyo didn't want to see him at all…. But still. He got up and grabbed her tightly from behind.

She screamed. "Kakashi?(!)"

"Thanks for saving me, Oyo-chan."

Somehow, she felt duped. The way how he had said that… it felt… fake… forged, false. Her eyebrows furrowed under the blindfold. "You jerk! That was another scheme of yours, wasn't it?"

Oh, so now she gets it.

She struggled feebly. "Let me go, you evil jerk! I have to go to work!"

"No way, not this time, I won't let go no matter. We need to talk."

"About what? Why don't you go and talk to that pretty woman? You seem very close with her."

"Who, Leiko-chan? No, I don't like her."

"What about that other woman? The one I threw the sponge at by accident."

"Nope. I don't like her either. I like you, Oyo-chan." He prodded his finger at the middle of her forehead and she squeaked.

Then she fell silent. "Wh-What?"

"I like _you_, Oyo-chan."

Oyo paled. _Oh my god!_ "Shut up." She said wobbly. "SHUT UP!" (sighs, she's always saying that) Then she clasped her hands over her ears in a desperate bid to block out the sound. But it echoed in her mind.

_I like **you**, Oyo-chan._

_**You**, Oyo-chan_

_**You**._

"Come on, Oyo-chan. I know you like me as much as I like you. Why must you prolong the inevitable? And I'm right in front of you, maskless and everything. We're alone. You can tell me everything."

Darn it, she thought this was too mushy to come from Kakashi's mouth. She reddened and turned around to him, feeling thankful she was still blindfolded. This actually made her feel less embarrassed. "No, I don't like you."

He frowned. "Then you like Gai?"

"No."

"Then you like Iruka?"

She remembered who this Iruka man was, he sometimes came with Naruto only to the ramen stand; he was a chuunin, and also a teacher in the ninja academy. He was pleasant and all, but not what she was looking for.

"No."

"Then what about Asuma?"

Oyo remembered this man too; he had a mane of hair framing his whole face and head and a cigarette that puffed steam into her face each time she served him before pointing to the 'No Smoking' sign at the corner of the ramen stand. He reminded her of a gorilla for some reason, yet he was gentle and nice to her.

"No, and will you stop asking me these questions? Is it 20 questions or something? No, I don't think so, so give it a rest - !"

"Then you like Naruto?"

"No!" She growled. The only way to get Kakashi off her back was just to confess… But she didn't want to –

"Sasuke?"

"NO!" She shouted furiously, that's it. He had pushed her far enough! "Okay, I admit. I do like you. But – " Suddenly, she felt relieved, but still - Oyo clamped her hand over her mouth to stop any forbidden words to spill out from her (just in case she becomes careless).

"What?" He said, beginning to grin.

Oyo looked down and took her hand away from her mouth. "Okay, okay… Just… why do _you_ like _me_? I'm immature and everything, I turn every man off and I'm not worth looking at. I've been put in jail and all that stuff. Heck, I even broke out of jail. What would people say… if they found out, and if I was with you…. What would they say?"

"I don't care what people say." He lifted up his sopping wet _Icha Icha Paradise_ book.

"... Really?"

"Yup. You're so fascinating, Oyo-chan. You're different than everybody else. You're nice and friendly, not to mention weird but I like that. I can't understand that."

_He thinks I'm nice? Pffft!_ She grinned foolishly, and then he grinned as well. "Wait." She stopped grinning. "How do I know if you'll be faithful?"

"Haven't you met Pakkun yet? My _Summoning no Jutsus_ are all dogs; that shows you just how loyal I can be, just like how dogs are loyal to their masters." Kakashi replied firmly. She frowned. Darn, he had a point. "Now… how do I know if you'll… be faithful to me?" He grinned at her again (if only she could see, sighs).

Oyo made a look at him under the blindfold. "Uh… I can't flirt?"

"Hmm, that's very true."

She punched him hard – well, she attempted to, and ended up punching thin air as he dodged her blow with ease. She fumed, "I can change that!"

"Oh, really? I know your personality very well, Oyo-chan. You can't flirt at all, can't present yourself properly to others nor can you speak up in public without shying away or wetting your pants."

Oyo looked down. "That's not true– especially the 'wetting pants' thing! But I admit… I'm afraid of crowds… You don't know everything about me just yet." _Is he trying to make me feel like an idiot again?_

He raised an eyebrow. "Tell me everything about you now."

"Well…." She started, jabbing at his chest with her finger playfully, still looking at the floor, "You can find out yourself. You still have the rest of your life to find out more about me, and I have the rest of my life to find out more about you." Then she got up and dusted herself, "So…Now that we have discussed this matter, I'd uh… better go back to work. Kakashi, are you coming?"

"Sure. Aren't you going to take off that silly blindfold?" He stood up beside her.

"I don't want to see your ugly face." She said light-heartedly, sticking her tongue out.

He rolled his eyes as she continued ranting.

"It's probably better if I didn't see you without your mask, because, why, you ask? Well, it might have two effects on me. If you really are ugly, I don't care if another woman likes you. If you're beautiful like Gai (he rolled his eyes again), then I'll forbid you from walking around town without a mask on in case a woman falls in love with you – in case they go like "WHOOPEEE! It's Kakasheeee!" down the street and I don't want that happening- "

He rolled his eyes once more at her typical statement, then took hold of her shoulders, and spun her around to face him.

She continued. " – as you know already, no other man seems to look at me much, except Gai. Oh yeah, I'm joking about the Gai part by the way, in case you get jealous. I don't want that happening, although it might be common that I'll get jealous over any woman who even glances at you from the corner ofthe eye - "

He lifted the blindfold up over her eyes. This time, he had done it too fast that she hadn't had the chance to recoil and shut her eyes.

Kakashi smirked at her. _Got her now!_

She gaped at the him, and her eyes just… glued onto his face. She was sure she had heard heavenly music playing, and a white light shining down on him… very strange… and also…was it hot in here, or… was it just her? She gulped, croaked and swallowed, trying to get a word in edgeways but all she done was open her mouth, and close it, open it… and close it. And she didn't open her mouth again. Oyo became silent, in fact, she became so silent - that her face became blue.

"Oyo! Breathe!" He shook her fiercely before she suffocated.

She took a deep breath and stared back at him with widened eyes. "Oh. My. God; It's… It's worse than I thought! You're – "

Silence.

"You're **_hideous_**!"

More silence.

He frowned.

"Only joking!" She said happily, and then she used her fist to bonk him gently on his skull, over his tufts of silver hair. "You didn't really believe me, did you? Oh, come on, you'd know by now how much of a joker I am."

He turned away from her, and she waddled over to him to look at him, he turned away from her again. "Gomen… did I hurt your feelings?" She asked him softly, with a pout; she put her hand on his arm but he shrugged it off. _Darn, never knew he was sensitive. _

"Yes." He fake-sobbed, not looking at her. "I want you to make it up to me."

She blinked. "How…?" _I've got a bad feeling…_

"With a…._ kiss_…" He replied deviously, turning back to face her – another one of his famous slimy looks on his face to match.

She smacked him in the shoulder with a glare, not caring whether this time she had hurt him this time or not, "N-No way!" She screamed at him, getting red in the face. Then she ran back down the path to the village, with Kakashi tailing her in hot pursuit. Of course, this all was just one silly game of cat and mouse – right? No - Oyo didn't think so. She was screaming her head off and waving her arms frantically as she tried to head for home base (aka the ramen stand).

"Get back here, Oyo-chan! I want that kiss!" He yelled joyfully, and extremely loud too. It was echoing all over in the woods, and some birds flew out from their trees into the sky.

_Damn,_ she thought. _If_ _I don't kiss him, he'll be tailing me all over town and at the ramen stand demanding that kiss. I'll never show my face around town! _She stopped, and waited for him to catch up. When she realised that Kakashi wasn't there, she cocked her head to the side. "Ne? I thought he was – ah, well, who cares? At least he's gone…" She turned round, only to find something clamped around her right ankle.

It slithered up to her calf as she froze. The only things that were in this forest that would slink up was - "SNAKE!" She screamed and squeezed her eyes shut, and fell back, trying to shake her leg free.

"Oyo-chan, it's just me." A (way too) familiar voice taunted warmly at her.

Oyo stopped screaming and flailing her leg around, then opened her eyes. Kakashi emerged from under the ground just centimetres away from her. She stared at him with her mouth agape. He shook off his dust and dirt and smiled once he let go of her leg.

"Got you." He whispered into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his face into her neck warmly. She shuddered uncontrollably at his affection, yet, she was trying to not to grin like mad – it was just too much.

_I could get used to this._ She thought, looking at Kakashi and then thinking back to how a cat cuddles up to its owner. "H-How did you do that?"

"Never mind, you're not a ninja so there's not much use of me explaining it to you. You wouldn't understand anyway." He replied, sitting on his haunches in front of her. Oyo was stuck sitting on the ground.

She frowned, shook herself out of his grip and got back up. She looked at him slyly as a small smile lit up on her face, Kakashi got up as well. "Okay, Kakashi. You 'caught' me - you want a kiss? You got it."

He immediately bent down.

"Wait."

"What?"

"How do I know….. if you aren't a clone?" She asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Do you really think that I'd miss out on this opportunity and let my clone have all the fun?"

She coughed, and Kakashi leant forward again.

"Eh - " She stopped him before his lips attached onto hers, "Close your eyes first."

"Why?"

"Just do it, or you won't get a kiss at al!" She hissed, attempting to throw her fist over his head again, but he caught her arm and put it behind his neck. Then his other hand scooped her around the waist and she let out a dodgy, surprised squeak.

She swallowed.

He closed his eyes.

Oyo bit her lip and began to sweat.

Now… How was she going to do this?

Her prayers were answered… when she found something behind her back… she was fingering the pickled-preserved fish which had been hidden in her belt for some time…. And she lifted it up to herself, and then she looked at Kakashi with his eyes closed. She snickered to herself quietly.

_Hehehe… I am so evil!_

"Pucker up, Kakashi!"

**And Meanwhile…….**

Naruto and Sakura were giggling insanely at the pair just a couple of feet away from them, as they hid behind a bush. Hinata didn't feel like looking, and Sasuke… he just stood against a tree with his eyes close (the visible sweatdrop there).

"Ne, if only they weren't standing so far away, and if Oyo-chan wasn't standing with her back to us, we could finally see Kakashi-sensei's face." Naruto complained.

True, Oyo was almost as tall as Kakashi, they could only see Kakashi's eyes and the rest of his head… just not his lower half of his face… and that was it. Perhaps they would never ever get to see Kakashi's face? They all watched Oyo protrude out the fish forwards, and seemed to have leant forward to get a better look. Apparently, Oyo did lift the fish up and –

Naruto burst into another fit of laughter, almost wetting his pants as he watched the scene progress. Oh, but what was this? Oyo brought the fish back down as soon as Kakashi opened his eyes again. She looked to the side, quickly hiding the fish in her sleeve, and then she turned back to him, and used the other sleeve to wipe at Kakashi's lips (if only they could see, sighs). They observed Kakashi's surprised reaction, before Oyo grabbed him by the chin and kissed him herself. They guessed it was just Oyo making up for Kakashi having to kiss the fish. It lasted for some seconds, before Kakashi fell back, and they both landed into a bush, legs sticking out.

Naruto and Sakura laughed again, Hinata was bushing like mad, and Sasuke just looked away with a small sigh.

"Sasuke-kun, don't you think that's the sweetest thing you've ever seen?" Sakura swooned again as they continued to watch.

"Feh." Naruto replied for her. "Sasuke has no feelings. I told you Oyo-chan and Kakashi-sensei would go together, nihihihi…"

Sasuke frowned to himself. "You just got lucky, Naruto."

"Aww, are you jealous?" Naruto taunted. "Now that I'll get all the credit?(!)"

Hinata smiled awkwardly. "Naruto…"

Sakura bonked him for Sasuke. "Don't get cocky there, Naruto. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will get too caught up to think about giving us credit anyway, even if they do make a good couple. What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha folded his arms again over his chest and looked to the side, yet his eyes werefocused on Kakashi and Oyo."Bah…They're just idiots in love."

**A Week Later… **

Leiko had made a sudden decision to move out of the apartment upstairs from Kakashi's to go travelling by herself ('soul-searching' as she described it) and left Konoha at the harbour just three days ago. Hana went with her lover and continued her part time job at Ino's flower shop, constantly meeting up with the gang and Kakashi, still talking about _Icha Icha_ _Paradise_, which had been upgraded to a new version called _Icha Icha Violence _by Jiraiya, which had even more higher ratings than the first one.

Oyo just remained working at the ramen stand – she was too attached to the place to give up her job, even though she didn't like the old man very much. Kakashi never made her angry or cry anymore. She allowed him to continue to read _Icha Icha Paradise_ as long as he didn't read it aloud at night, and as long as Oyo stayed away from them. To retaliate, Oyo began reading a new book called '**How to Treat Your Man Like a Dog**', and also began writing a new book during her free time, called '_Hatake Kakashi Traits_', although her new book was about a scarecrow and a farm girl; Her new found inspiration coming from long hours of observing the characteristics of a certain individual.

Naruto still got free bowls of ramen for the rest of the days in Konoha. Sakura continued to get the best Knowledge and Understanding grades out of the three, and still crushed on Sasuke, who still got the best Enquiry Skills and Physical Being skills, still being crushed on by Sakura and Ino and apparently as recent poll surveys had said – most of the female nin in every village who were his age. Hinata was still good friends with Naruto even though she still liked him, and Gai, his student Lee, along with the rest of their team would visit them at the ramen stand. The rest of the other jounins plus Iruka would also come for a treat and often annoy Kakashi about him and Oyoshi finally being together…

Kakashi had asked the landlord to lend the apartment Leiko moved out of to Oyo to live for the moment until she earned enough money; Oyo decided she would just live above the jounin for temporary. Since the building only consisted of the two houses, it just felt as if Kakashi and Oyo lived together. – they could both just go out to their balconies, Oyoshi at the top level, Kakashi on the ground floor, and talk like that. Her house remained furniture-less because she always went to Kakashi's house instead and often stayed overnight in a tent she put up in his living room. With a female's touch around; Kakashi's home became an animal sanctuary for injured wild creatures (Gai and Lee would occasionally bring squirrels over). Whenever he went to a mission for several days with the team she would miss him madly and wait for him. But when he came back it was like happy boo and egg on toast; they both began dating even though they never said they were yet they hung around together whenever they received the opportunity. Kakashi and Oyo lived happily ever after in Konoha with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke - that is, until Oyo's moany mother decided to meet her new son-in-law….

**The End!**

It's finished! Yay! Thank you to all who reviewed (bows) and I'm glad you've enjoyed 'Idiots in Love' – to be honest, I think I've sort of ended it at a cliffie and I might write another one to it - like a short sidepiece, but until then, ja ne!


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